When you are being supported then you can be sustained. Will you live that way, supported by God and trusting in Him all the days of your life? Deciding that for you and your house you will serve the Lord in order to be giving and receiving this support? Making sure you always have your wife’s back and your kids’ backs? Will you be the support beams or pillars to hold up your family?
Ways we can be the dads our wives and kids need us to be to help sustain them and help them lean into God to be sustained:
Supported by Love and Sacrifice:
Biblical Foundation: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:13
Application:
Emulate God’s sacrificial love. Show selfless love to your family by putting their needs before your own, sacrificing your time, and making choices that prioritize their well-being.
Supported by Leadership with Humility:
Biblical Foundation: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." - James 4:10
Application:
Lead your family with humility. Recognize your own imperfections, seek God’s guidance, and lead with a servant’s heart.
Supported by Faith and Trust in God’s Plan:
Biblical Foundation: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5
Application:
Trust in God’s plan for your family. In times of uncertainty or difficulty, rely on your faith, seeking God’s guidance and trusting that His plan is perfect.
Supported by Teaching and Modeling Godly Values:
Biblical Foundation: "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6
Application:
Actively teach and model Godly values to your children. Let your actions align with your words, providing a strong foundation for them to build their lives upon.
Supported by Prayer and Seeking God’s Wisdom:
Biblical Foundation: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." - James 1:5
Application:
Regularly pray for wisdom and guidance in your role as a father. Seek God’s counsel in important decisions and challenges your family may face.
Supported by Encouragement and Affirmation:
Biblical Foundation: "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Application:
Be a source of encouragement and affirmation for your family. Recognize and appreciate their strengths, and provide support during challenging times.
Supported by Being a Steward of Resources:
Biblical Foundation: "Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy." - 1 Corinthians 4:2
Application:
Manage your resources responsibly, recognizing that they are gifts from God. Use them to bless and serve your family and others in need.
Conclusion:
By integrating these biblical principles into your life, you can strive to be a father who not only sustains his family but also positively impacts the world through God’s love and wisdom.
Topic: Sustained!
Verse: Psalms 55:22 NIV
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Firstly, let’s be the dads who cast our cares on God because we know that He cares for us! Secondly, let’s be the dads who cast our cares on God because we know that He will sustain us! Finally, let’s be the dads who walk our lives with God, trusting Him and casting our cares upon Him because we know that He will never let us be shaken!
Ways to live in Jesus’ righteousness and experience the benefits mentioned in this verse:
Seeking Righteousness through Christ:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matthew 6:33
Application:
Make Christ the center of your life. Seek His righteousness through faith in Him, acknowledging His lordship over every aspect of your existence.
Repentance and Confession:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
Application:
Regularly examine your heart, confessing sins and seeking forgiveness. Repentance is key to maintaining righteousness and a close relationship with Jesus.
Immersing Yourself in God’s Word:
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord." - Psalm 1:1-2
Application:
Read and meditate on God’s Word daily. Allow His truth to shape your thoughts, actions, and decisions. It is through His Word that you gain understanding of His righteousness.
Prayer and Communion:
"Pray without ceasing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Application:
Foster a constant attitude of prayer. Seek communion with Jesus, sharing your burdens, joys, and concerns. This continual connection reinforces your dependence on Him.
Walking in Love and Forgiveness:
"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." - Colossians 3:14
Application:
Cultivate a spirit of love and forgiveness. Reflect Christ’s love in your relationships, forgiving others as you have been forgiven.
Trusting in God’s Providence:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." - Proverbs 3:5
Application:
Surrender control to God. Trust in His providence and timing, knowing that He is working all things for your good.
Fellowship with Like-minded Believers:
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…" - Hebrews 10:24-25
Application:
Engage in Christian fellowship. Surround yourself with believers who can encourage and support you on your journey of righteousness.
Living a Life of Integrity:
"The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them." - Proverbs 11:3
Application:
Uphold a life of integrity. Be honest, just, and upright in your dealings, reflecting the righteousness of Christ.
Conclusion
By incorporating these practices into your daily life, you can experience the benefits of Psalm 55:22, finding stability and assurance in the righteousness of Jesus, and trusting that He will sustain you in all circumstances.
Moreover, it starts with trust that He will support us:
Today’s Devotional points us to the components or syllables of the word sustain, sus-tain. It points us to the definition which tells us that “it’s a word that means “to support, to hold, to bear up from beneath, to bear the weight of.” Today’s Devotional goes on to point us to Nehemiah 9:21 and “what it says about the Israelites”:
For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.
It continues reinforcements with scripture pointing to Psalms 3:5 which says:
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
We then learn as it directs us to the words of “David promises that God will sustain the generous man even on a bed of sickness” in Psalm 41:3 which says:
The LORD sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.
Today’s Devotional continues to direct us towards scripture to reinforce how God promises to sustain us through Isaiah46:4 which says:
Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
When you drive over a big bridge, do you trust that the giant pillars will support you and be unshakable? Let’s remember “the promises of God bear us up from beneath” too as Today’s Devotional says. Let’s lean on, trust, and cast our cares upon God because “His everlasting arms sustain us through every storm.”
Today’s Devotional concludes with a hymn from Anne Steele as a good prayer for today:
“Divine Support and Protection” by Anne SteeleMy great Protector, and my Lord, Thy constant aid impart; O let Thy kind, Thy gracious word Sustain my trembling heart.
Under every condition, in every circumstance, for every burden, in every need, through every sorrow, Christ, the source and sustainer of life, is more than sufficient.
A. L. FAUST
