Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

We have a father – Part 2

By Austen C. Ukachi
14 June 2020   |   3:26 am
To understand God as a Father, we must have a Father-son relationship. Hagar’s experiences with God detailed in our earlier series must have made her understand God

Austen C. Ukachi<br />

To understand God as a Father, we must have a Father-son relationship. Hagar’s experiences with God detailed in our earlier series must have made her understand God as a Father who cares, a Father who shows up in a time of need, a Father who does not abandon His own when we need Him most.

God demonstrated in Hagar that he is a Father to the broken-hearted, a Father to the helpless, to the rejected, a Father to those abandoned and a Father to those in pain and need.

COVID-19 has increased the level of anxiety with many of us. Many are worried and afraid about their jobs, about their family, about their future, and their health. Many are crying, due to the pains brought about by COVID-19. If you are one of them, I want to assure you that you have a Father in God Who will not abandon you.

In the book of Isaiah, God uses some striking imageries to show Israel whom He is. First, He contrasts Himself into a woman, who loses her compassion for her child and says though a woman may forget her child, He will never forget Israel.

“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.’ ” (Isaiah 49:14-16 NKJV).

In the second imagery, God describes Himself as Israel’s Maker, her husband and as her Redeemer. These are apt pictures of who our heavenly Father is.

““… For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God…” (Isaiah 54:4-8 NKJV).

WHO IS OUR FATHER?
Let us remember that Jesus taught His disciples to pray to God calling Him, “Our Father, who is in heaven” (Mt. 6:9). Who is a Father? First, our Heavenly Father gives and sustains life (Job 10:12). I am sure you know of someone who died from COVID -19. But God has spared your life.

Our Heavenly Father is a Provider. God, by His providence, provides for all of us the same way He provided for the children of Israel in the wilderness. These Psalms validate the providence of God.
“The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

(Psalms 145:15-16 ; 104:27-30 NKJV).

Remember what The Lord’s Prayer taught us to pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Our Father hears our desperate cry for help.

Our Heavenly Father protects us. In Isaiah 41:14, God showed Himself to Israel as a Redeemer that protects, helps and delivers them. “Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the LORD And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (NKJV).

Our Father heals. In Jeremiah 30:17 and 33:6, God promised to heal Israel.

Our Father saves us from sin and danger. In Matthew 1:21, we are told that the mission of Jesus was to save us from our sins and danger.

Contact: pastoracukachi@gmail.com

In this article

0 Comments