The Bible.com (or Bible App from YouVersion) has so many great plans to go through and read. As I continue through the list of dad devotionals using their search capabilities, I have come across today’s devotional which is a 12-day devotional titled 10 Challenges Every Dad Must Conquer. Checking out the publisher’s information and signing up for their newsletters as well as getting to download their survival gear, I am excited to get better connected with them as I believe they have many resources that will be helpful and useful for men who answer the call to step up and step into being the dads God has called and created them to be. Looking into this devotional and trying to better understand the purpose of Manhood Journey, I discovered they are “a ministry who helps dads become disciple-makers. We do this through various tools. Things like blogs, eBooks, Field Guides, Bible studies, digital courses, and live events“. I am so excited to get to go through this devotional with all of you and see where God will take us. I am excited to have gotten to communicate with Kent and to have found their resources as I believe it will be of great help to dads.
The Bible.com site describes this plan as follows:
“Feel overwhelmed—or worse—like a failure? We took your most-pressing challenges and matched them up with battle-proven, busy leaders who also happen to be dads—to give you theologically deep and super-practical help. You CAN be the dad God calls you to be. This plan will help.”
10 Challenges Every Dad Must Conquer
Today’s devotional points us to Ephesians 6:4.
‘Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. ‘
Ephesians 6:4
Today’s Word from today’s devotional is one that I suspect I need to hear today in the midst of the conversations that will be taking today and my role and responsibility in how I choose to act and respond. I want to be a part of the experience and yet I need to make sure that I don’t do something that could be or will infuriate, incense, anger, annoy, irritate, madden, enrage, send into a rage, inflame, antagonize, provoke, irk, vex, gall, pique, try someone’s patience, get on someone’s nerves, make someone’s blood boil, make someone’s hackles rise, make someone see red, get someone’s back up, rub up the wrong way, ruffle someone’s feathers, drive to distraction, exacerbate, hump, rasp, infuriating, annoying, irritating, maddening, antagonizing, provoking, irking, irksome, vexing, vexatious, galling, trying, troublesome, bothersome, or displeasing to my daughter. I need to remember the earlier posts and the messages associated with this verse and choose to lead by example, teaching and training them in the ways she should go and how she should live, building a relationship, and trusting God through it all. In the midst of the struggle, I need to choose to be the dad my daughter needs me to be.
Feel free to check out the other posts associated with this scripture:
- 10 Challenges Every Dad Must Conquer – Day 4
- 10 Challenges Every Dad Must Conquer – Day 1
- Father Like The Father – Day 5
Today’s devotional has been provided by Manhood Journey (more details can be found https://www.manhoodjourney.org/fieldguides/)
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)
For more information, please visit Manhood Journey: https://www.manhoodjourney.org/fieldguides/.
Today is the close of this devotional and I am so glad to have gotten to go through it and get to connect with the leaders who are associated with it. I am amazed by God’s goodness to help me to connect with other people who are interested in helping us all Be The Dads God created and purposes for us to be.
“Day 12: Wrapup“
- Today’s devotional looks to bring it all back together and help us to both remember and capture the keys to these 10 challenges we all must conquer.
- Are you ready to grab hold of them in order to be the dads our kids need us to be?
- Are you ready to grab hold of the promise for each of us so that we can be the dads?
- Let’s wrap up this series with the challenges and God’s promise so that we can be the dads!
- Today’s devotional puts it this way:
- “In the past few days, you’ve read the following challenges from dads—now read the challenge along with the promise from Scripture.“
- “Challenge #1 You’re not sure whether you’re winning or losing.”
- “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
—Proverbs 22:6 - “You can know if you’re winning or losing—and how you can actually win.“
- “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
- “Challenge #2 Culture’s pulling your child away.”
- “My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger…”
—James 1:19 - “There is a war going on. If you aren’t fighting it—you’re losing. You can win the battle between culture and your child.“
- “My dearly loved brothers, understand this: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger…”
- “Challenge #3 You feel distant from your child.”
- “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
—Ephesians 6:4 - “You can learn how to connect with your child like never before.“
- “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
- “Challenge #4 You’re living with failure and regret.”
- “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”
—Romans 7:18 - “You don’t have to live in your past failure or walk around with regret. You can overcome it.“
- “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”
- “Challenge #5 You’re always angry.”
- “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity.”
—Ephesians 4:26-27 (CSB) - “Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
—Ephesians 4:31-32 (CSB) - “You can learn how to inject grace and peace into your family.“
- “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the devil an opportunity.”
- Challenge #6 Your child feels distant from you.
- “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
—Proverbs 20:5 (NIV) - “You can break the barriers and pull your child closer by asking smarter questions.“
- “The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
- “Challenge #7 You’re fighting the wrong enemy.”
- “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood.”
—Ephesians 6:12 - “There is an enemy. It’s not who you’re fighting now. Learn to fight the right enemy so you win the real war.“
- “…our struggle is not against flesh and blood.”
- “Challenge #8 You’ve failed in the past and you’re not sure what to do. ”
- “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
—1 Corinthians 16:13 - “You can turn your past failures into gospel conversations.“
- “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
- “Challenge #9 You’re overwhelmed and unfocused.”
- “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
—Ephesians 5:15-17 - “You can be intentional at home and in life.“
- “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
- “Challenge #10 You don’t have enough energy for work and home. ”
- “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”
—1 Corinthians 10:31 - “You can have enough energy to thrive at work and home.“
- “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”
- So let’s be the dads we were created and purposed to be and not get defeated by the lies and attacks of the devil.
- We don’t live on food alone but on the bread of life, the Word of God, that is God breathed, God inspired and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
- So let’s make time to stay connected with God! Let’s pray without ceasing! Let’s be in relationship with our Heavenly Father so that we can be the dads God needs us to be for our wives, our kids, and world.
- What’s great about reaching out and connecting with various devotional authors and groups is that they know about this site and they are onboard with the importance of each of us being the dads God created us to be.
- As men we need to grab hold of the reality that we aren’t alone.
- We can use the resources God provides through His Word, through devotionals and through groups like Manhood Journey to turn to them when we are feeling challenged or struggles.
- Today’s devotional closes with offering their support to us in order to help us be the dads.
- “The last few days have just been a sprinkling of all that’s in our Field Guides for dads. If you found this reading plan helpful, you can snag the Field Guides Bundle with all ten field guides.”
