Your Father's Heart

Matthew 7:11
11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Let me tell you a true story I heard. There was a pastor whose young child was diagnosed with cancer. The day his boy was scheduled for an operation, he cried out to God, “God, I’m almost 30 years old, but my boy is only about three months old. Why don’t you just take some years off my life and give them to my boy?”

Then, deep down within the man, an almost audible voice said, “I am not like that.” When the man heard that, he realised immediately that his son’s sickness was not from God. He also realised that if he, who was sinful, wanted his child well, how much more his heavenly Father. So he changed his prayer and said, “Father God, I come against this sickness and I ask you for healing for my child.” That day, on the operating table, the surgeons found no trace of cancer!

Today, God wants you to know that He is not the kind of Father who wants you sick and defeated, keeps you poor and wanting, refuses to provide for your needs and denies you of your blessings.

When my daughter Jessica was younger, I bought a beautiful teddy bear for her. Teddy bears are her favourite toys and I could not wait to see her joy when she saw it. My joy is to see her happy. When she is sick and has difficulty sleeping at night, it hurts me to hear her cry. When she is crying, I cannot ignore her cries. I enter into her discomfort and pain even though I know her sickness is something that will pass shortly. When she is in pain, I feel the pain too. When she is sad, I am sad too.

I believe that God gives us children to help us understand what His Father-heart is like. His joy is to enter into your joy and see you happy. God wants you to know that if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to you when you ask Him! My prayer today is that you will know just how much your Father loves you!