As we continue to dig into the lessons and the truths, let’s hold tight to God and seek Him with all of our hearts. I found this new devotional from Michael W. Smith, published by K-Love that sounds like it will be a great thing to help us be the dads. Today’s devotional will help us to consider our perspective and see how God sees us and as such how to be the dads who live our lives with the same perspective towards our kids. Today’s devotional tells us how “Because of your relationship with Jesus, your Abba Father looks at you and says, “That’s my child!” God’s first thought is of you as His son or daughter, all from a heart of love.” Today’s devotional is “K-LOVE Books’ inaugural release from artist, actor, and author Michael W. Smith, The Way of the Father, offers this five-day study to encourage and inspire every Christ-follower in a personal journey of faith with the Father.” So let’s get into it and learn more about the way of our Father and the truths of God!
Today’s devotional gets us started with the following verses: 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
‘If I wish to boast, I will not be foolish, because I will be speaking the truth. But I abstain [from it], so that no one will credit me with more than [is justified by what] he sees in me or hears from me. Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me. So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength]. ‘
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 AMP
Let’s be the dads who lean so hard on Jesus that when we speak, we speak the truth. Let’s be the dads who trust so much in God that when we boast, we speak the truth in love! Let’s be the dads who are humble and don’t try to get more credit than we are justified to receive! Let’s be the dads who don’t brag or boast too much and cause the attention to be directed at us instead of pointing people to the One, to God, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Let’s be the dads who spend so much time in God’s Word, so much time preparing for today, so much time praying that we get to live out our lives with the revelation of God! Let’s be the dads who remember to put the focus on God rather than trying to put the spotlight on ourselves! Let’s be the dads who don’t allow Satan to get us off track and keep us from accomplishing what God has created, purposed, and called us to do! Satan may send someone to try and knock you down but lean in on God more, trusting in Him rather than your own understandings or trying to do it in your own strength! Let’s walk humbly, trusting in God with every step of every day! In the midst of the trials, the troubles, the struggles, the tormenting, the harassment, let’s grab a hold of the reality and the truth that God says: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In the AMP version we get some extra details when we read: “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” So don’t see your weakness as something to worry about instead cause it to make you trust God, lean in on God, and seek Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength! Let’s be the dads who when faced with our weaknesses for the sake of Christ cling to the truth and the reality that “when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].” Let’s be the dads who when faced with insults for the sake of Christ cling to the truth and the reality that “when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].” Let’s be the dads who when faced with distresses for the sake of Christ cling to the truth and the reality that “when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].” Let’s be the dads who when faced with persecutions for the sake of Christ cling to the truth and the reality that “when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].” Let’s be the dads who when faced with difficulties for the sake of Christ cling to the truth and the reality that “when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].“
Today’s devotional has been provided by K-LOVE books (more details can be found here: About The Publisher)
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 https://www.klove.com/books.
Take-Aways from today’s Devotional
- Has anything happened in your life that is keeping you from seeing God as your Heavenly Father?
- Has something thappened in your life that causes you trouble in seeing God as your Heavenly Father?
- Was it one incident or a list of them?
- Let’s be the dads who can lean in on God’s Word to help us to trust God more and cast our cares on Him because He cares for us!
- Let’s be the dads who can lean in on God’s Word to help us to trust God and see Him more as our Heavenly Father because we know in our weakness His strength is revealed!
- Let’s be the dads who when we are weak allow God to be our strength in us!
- Today’s devotional speaks to Paul’s spiritual maturity in the middle of his ongoing battles in the physical, mental, and emotional realms of life when he took on the mindset expressed in today’s verses!
- Let’s be the dads who trust God’s answers to prayer!
- Let’s be the dads who trust God’s timing when it comes to when He answers our prayers!
- Let’s be the dads who trust God’s purpose when it comes to how He answer our prayers!
- Remember God is good all the time! So no matter how He answers, when He answers, what He answers, it is for our good and His glory!
- Today’s devotional puts it this way: “When our Abba Father doesn’t answer our prayers for healing the way we think He should, for ourselves or a loved one, the temptation often comes to question His goodness, to doubt His love and care for us.“
- God is out for our best!
- Do you want to settle for ok when you could receive God’s best?
- Remember how God knows the beginning and the end? Consider how with that knowledge He knows what is best for us when we pray!
- God is refining us and developing us so that when we persevere with faith, we will be complete and lacking nothing because we will achieve the ultimate goal of becoming more like Jesus!
- Let’s be the dads who are more focused on holiness than happiness!
- Let’s be the dads who are more focused on holiness which lasts for eternity than happiness that is temporary!
- It may not be easy but it will be worth it!
- It may require refining moments in our lives but it will be worth it!
- It may require troubles and trials in our lives but it will be worth it as we read in James 1:2-4:
- ‘Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace]. And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing. ‘ James 1:2-4
- Let’s be the dads who want to leave a legacy of holiness!
- Let’s be the dads who want to leave a legacy of faith in Jesus!
- Let’s be the dads who want to leave a legacy that says in our weakness, God’s strength was revealed in and through our lives!
- Let’s be the dads who even when we have a pain in our side, a “thorn”, we allow it to work out holiness in us rather than trying to have temporary happiness in the moment.
- Let’s be the dads who remember what Jesus said to us about having to face troubles “take heart for I have overcome the world!”
- Let’s be the dads who aren’t surprised but rather are prepared for troubles because Jesus told us that “in this world you will have troubles“, that’s right not if or may but will have troubles, so let’s be ready so that our hearts and minds are in the right state to ensure no matter what happens to us, we can “take heart” and respond in a way that will be glorifying to God!
- Today’s devotional looks to encourage us with the following closing paragraph:
- Today’s devotional closes with the following thoughts and questions for us to take with us:
