It’s incredible getting to go through these devotions for dads. It’s even more incredible getting to reach out to the authors and connect with them. Today when I did my search for “dad” in the Bible.com plans, the next one on the list was from UNCOMMEN and titled – STRANGE – WORDS – A Dad’s Prayer For His Children. This one’s description aligns very strongly with our theme of Be The Dads. Here is a snippet that describes this devotional from Bible.com:
Now more than ever, the world is in need of strong fathers who love their families well. God provides the strength to those who seek Him and call upon His name. Being a father is a sacred responsibility because we reflect God’s love to our children. Men are called to lead and serve their families, and a very tangible way to do that is to pray over your children. God does amazing things in our lives when we ask for His help. But sometimes finding the words to pray over your kids can be challenging. This study includes seven things from Scripture that you can pray over your kids for each day of the week. Join us as we provide guidance and daily encouragement for great prayers based on Scripture over the next seven days.
Bible.com – UNCOMMEN
Today’s verses from God’s Word come to us from Psalms 86:4, James 1:2-4, Ecclesiastes 9:7, and 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
‘Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. ‘
Psalms 86:4
‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ‘
James 1:2-4
‘Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. ‘
Ecclesiastes 9:7
‘For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Going through tough times? Do you let your family know you are going through tough times? Do they see the struggle? Do they see the pain? Are you able to turn to God and receive what He tells us today through His Word? Are you able to share it with your family too? Are you able to put your trust in God to bring joy in the midst of these times? Are you able to consider it pure joy because you know how the rest of James plays out or what it says? Are you able to persevere because of your trust, your faith, and your hope in God? Are you ready to allow that perseverance to complete its work in and through you? Do you realize God has prepared the good works He has for you to accomplish already? Do you realize that God has opened true freedom to you through Jesus so that you can walk out of your life knowing you are approved? So today let’s remember and cling to the reality that our light and momentary troubles are achieving an eternal glory that is greater than them both. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus! Let’s fix our eyes on eternity! Let’s not be distracted by the things that are temporary. Let’s be focused on living our lives for an eternal purpose. Let’s today decide to be the dads God created us to be. Let’s be the dads that our kids need. Let’s be the dads that our wives need. Let’s be the dads that this world needs. Let’s stand up! Let’s step up! Let’s be the dads!
Today’s devotional has been provided by UNCOMMEN (more details can be found https://www.uncommen.org/).
Reading through today’s devotional, here are some takeaways for me: (check out the devotional on your own too to see if you pick up other nuggets, and please share your findings in the comments)
JOY
- Today’s devotional kicks off with an incredible prayer connected to today’s verses:
- Ever had a time where it was hard to find joy?
- What did you do?
- Where did you turn?
- How did you respond?
- Were you able to turn to God and grab hold of His Word, His truth, and His promises?
- Were you able to see or find joy in all things?
- Were you able to demonstrate it so that your child can see there is always another side that brings joy in the morning?
- Are you able to live a life that demonstrates joy in every situation so that your kids know all things are possible with God?
- Are you able to live a life that shows your kids how to find joy in the midst of trials and troubles?
- Taking heart when you face troubles because you know that Jesus has overcome the world?
- Considering the trial pure joy by faith in Jesus and allowing your faith to grow and persevere as you are refined and purified so that when perseverance has completed its work in you that you will be complete and lacking nothing?
- Consider turning to the Psalms where David shows how he dealt with troubles, trials, pain, and suffering.
- ‘Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. ‘ – Psalms 86:4
- Let’s be the dads who pray for our kids.
- Let’s be the dads who pray that our kids will be able to be glad, filled with the joy of the Lord as their strength, to the depth of their heart.
- Let’s be the dads who pray that our kids will be able to see and experience joy in all things and at all times.
- Let’s be the dads who pray that our kids will be able to find joy no matter which painful life experience comes their way.
- Let’s be the dads who pray that our kids will be able to find joy no matter which painful life experience they have to face.
- Let’s be the dads who exemplify and pray that our kids too will be able to let the joy of the Lord be their strength so that every day, no matter what happens, they can say Happy Today!
- Let’s be the dads who demonstrate and pray that our kids too will be able to live in confidence of God, being filled with faith, no matter what they are going up against!
- Let’s be the dads who model joy in difficult times so that when our kids follow that example they will find themselves with joy, courage, confidence, and a healthy state of mind.
- Let’s be the dads who model turning to God as our source of joy and hope so that when our kids follow our example they too will be unstoppable because they walk out their lives in pursuit of God’s will, God’s purpose, and God’s plan for their lives.
- Let’s be the dads who model a life of joy so that it helps build a blessed house and as our kids follow this example the house will be doubly blessed.
- Let’s remember our kids are a gift from God!
- Let’s remember our kids are an inheritance from God!
- Let’s remember how our kids are gifts to remind us of new life!
- Let’s remember how our kids are gifts to remind us of energy!
- Let’s remember how our kids are gifts to remind us of optimism for good things God has in store!
- Let’s never allow our crazy days to keep us from coming home and receiving and being thankdful for the joy that our children bring to us.
- Today’s devotional post closes out the series and the close their devotion with these statements:
