Luke, I am your father: do you know who yo Daddy is?
The Struggle of Every Human Being
Despite the fact that your name is most likely not Luke, you’re probably in the same shoes as Luke Skywalker and I, not knowing who our father truly is or that He even exists.
Yes do we sing to Him, pray to Him daily but how much do we actually believe that He’s listening? Do we even know what His embrace feels like?
Pain’s Push to the Father
Something happened this week that’s causing me to seek out who my Heavenly Father is in a deeper way. Funny how the Lord uses painful circumstances to push us towards Him. But when He does do this, our hearts repel back, turning away from Him in shame and fear.
Once the Lord gave me a vision of a little child who fell and scraped his knee. Instead of running to his father to be comforted and for him to mend his wound, he shrunk back in fear. The father of the little boy was pained in his heart that his son would not come to him in a time of need.
God opened my eyes to see, that’s how I am with Him. I turn away in shame when my heart’s been wounded.
The Lord’s faithfully led me closer and close to His heart these past few years. Patiently peeling back the darkness and allowing the light of His love to come forth. I’m noticing now that I am able to draw a little closer to Him than before.
Coming to Him with Our “Stuff”
This morning, the Lord helped me come to Him with my pain. All the bitterness, the anger that’s raging inside me and I’m trying to suppress with good proper, “I should be doing this instead” behaviors….the Holy Spirit helped me bring it all to the Lord.
At first my gut reaction was to condemn and lecture myself to propriety. But the Lord help me to simply BE with Him. To be real, to come to Him as I am. And what “I am” this morning was: angry, resentful, bitter, confused, unforgiving, doubtful…you name it, I probably was feeling it.
Truth Drawing Near
The interesting thing was when I did bring all these jumbled emotions in my heart before Him, I began to see that He is good, faithful, kind, my Savior, Redeemer, healer. My hope.
I often wondered about King David’s format for the composition of his psalms. Oftentimes a psalm would commence with David complaining, moaning, groaning, crying…then somehow end with praises to the Lord. I never really understood how that happens until this morning.
When we bring ourselves before the Lord, we are not performing an act of rebellion. By bringing all those uncomfortable emotions to Him, we are actually declaring His goodness and giving Him glory. We are saying He alone is our hope and our healer by bringing our burdens to Him. We are not doing what the enemy is accusing us of: complaining, rebelling, disobedient…you name it.
And…it is only when we allow the grace of God to help us present our burdens to the Lord, that the truth comes. Truth then touches our wounds and confusion setting us free from the lies that’s entangled our hearts from seeing God rightly (John 8:32).
Sacrifices of God
David said, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17).
We do not need to bring trophies we’ve crafted with our own hands to appease Him, to be accepted, to be worthy of His love, presence and comfort. He does not delight in sacrifice. We need only to bring our broken and contrite spirits, which is defined as: worn out, ground to pieces, remorse and sorrow from sin.
How many of us feel worn out, ground to pieces, remorseful and sorrowful from sin? God help us bring ourselves before You. Help us give You our pains and sorrows.
This is all the Lord is asking and inviting us into. Not to fast for forty days, pray for a month. No. He’s asking us to simply pray and say, “God, I give you access to this part of my heart even though I’m afraid. Show me who You are. Your face of kindness I need right now.” Then watch as the truth comes to set you free.
-Amen
(message me how the Lord speaks to you to encourage me and others! Thanks and blessings!)
