Priorities – Hope for Single Fathers – Day 2 – Treat others like you want to be!

As today begins and I prepare to dig into another devotional to help me hear and better support single dads, I cling to God’s calling for us to put others ahead of ourselves! As I prepare for this day I grab hold of the importance of being able to treat others like you want to be treated! Let’s make sure we are putting first things first and have our priorities straight! So today if you are or you aren’t a single father, take a moment and consider how best to come alongside other dads to support, encourage, and love on them! I received words of encouragement from Tez Brooks when I asked if I could share his devotional that put wind in my sails and hoping it will be able to do the same for you today!

Today’s devotional is described as follows:

Hope for Single Fathers by Tez Brooks

3 Days

Finalist for the 2022 Selah Awards, this reading plan addresses how dads can model trust and faith while navigating life’s hectic highway. For single fathers, the challenge increases. Men avoid asking for help because it implies weakness. Roadblocks of independence and pride cause discouragement and hopelessness. Based on the book “The Single Dad Detour” you’ll learn reliance on God and maintain hope to be the protective seatbelt your family needs.

Hope for Single Fathers | Devotional Reading Plan | YouVersion Bible

Scripture from Today’s Devotional:

Let’s be the dads who start everything by turning to God! Let’s be the dads who start our days in God’s Word! Let’s be the dads who start our days with prayer and petition to God, casting all our cares upon Him! Let’s be the dads who turn to God’s Word as our source because we know that His Word never returns void! Let’s be the dads who turn to God’s Word as our source because we know that His Word is sharper than a double-edged sword and is able to cut to the core, the marrow of the situation!

Let’s be the dads who are patient! Let’s be the dads who allow His love to flow into and through us so that we can live our lives in His serenity! Let’s be the dads who are kind and thoughtful! Let’s be the dads who aren’t living our lives filled with jealousy and envy! Let’s be the dads who live humbly, not bragging, not puffed up and proud, and not arrogantly! Let’s be the dads who are polite, civil, and chivalrous rather than falling into the trap of the world and being rude and self-seeking! Let’s be the dads who are not easily provoked, nor overly sensitive, or easily angered! Let’s be the dads who don’t take offense because of the wrongs endured! Let’s be the dads who choose to live our lives as love, attempting to become more like God who is love, and one day hoping to be able to replace the word love with our names in God’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13.

Let’s be the dads who act out of an attitude of humility! Let’s be the dads who do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit! Let’s be the dads who do nothing through factional motives, or strife! Let’s be the dads who regard others as more important than yourselves!

Let’s be the dads who choose daily to treat others the same way you want them to treat you! Let’s be the dads who desire to live up to the high calling of Jesus and be able to fulfill the essence of the Law and the writings of the Prophets by loving God and loving others!

Today’s devotional has been provided to us by Tez Brooks.

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 http://www.tezbrooks.com.

Takeaways from Today’s Devotional:
“Changing Lanes: Putting Others First“

• Let’s be the dads who realize “the importance of self-care” so that we can be healthy enough to care for others!
• Let’s be the dads who grab hold of how all of the commandments can be wrapped up in love God and love people and as such we “need to care for others as well“!
• Let’s be the dads who cling to God’s Word, His commands, His wisdom, and His direction and choose to “treat others in the same way you would like to be treated“!
• Let’s be the dads who decide “to obey God by placing our agenda aside for others“!
• Let’s be the dads who no matter if we are single dads or married dads take a hold of the importance of both self-care and caring for others!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that in this world we will have troubles but that we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world and as such turn to Him when “life throws us detours, requiring adjustments we hadn’t planned for“!
• Let’s be the dads who can consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds because we know that it tests our faith to persevere and when perseverance has completed its work we will be complete and lacking nothing!
• Let’s be the dads who lean in on God even when it comes to parenting and how we parent!
• Let’s be the dads who come alongside our brothers who are being challenged by “parenting alone” because we realize that it probably isn’t what they had planned and are dealing with the surprises and the adjustments necessary for them and their kids!
• Let’s be the dads who realize that the one constant in life is change!
• Today’s devotional speaks to single dads on this as follows:
  • “You’ve been driving in the same lane for so long you may be hesitant to consider doing things differently. Whether you are adjusting to hiring caretakers, moving into a new apartment, or creating new traditions—changes are inevitable. Those changes almost always involve compromise and sacrifice. “
• Let’s be the dads who want to be able to walk in the hope of Jesus no matter what we are facing!
• Let’s be the dads who grab hold of how today’s devotional speaks to that hope requiring “placing other people’s needs above your own is hard but essential“!
• Let’s be the dads who look to God who loved so much that He gave and continues to give, sacrificially He gave His one and only Son that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish but would have everlasting life!
• Let’s be the dads who choose to “model His character” in order to be able to “find amazing opportunities to point ourselves, our children, and everyone else to the Hope of the World, Jesus“!
• Today’s devotional closes with the following thought and reflections:
  • “So, when new norms demand our attention, loving others unreciprocated can be one of the most challenging but rewarding disciplines. Especially when you feel you’re doing all the work, all the adapting, all the lane changing. Allow God to guide your response amid all the stress. There is something very life-giving and hope-filled in laying down your rights and giving of yourself. For there is no greater love than to lay down your life for the needs of others (John 15:13).“
  • “REFLECTION: Has someone wronged you who needs forgiveness? Change doesn’t often come easily, nor does sacrifice or relinquishing your rights. Consider ways you can alleviate conflict when other’s expectations collide with yours. Make a list of things that are non-negotiables versus those on which you are willing to compromise.“