Morning Dew

Key Passage– 1 Chronicles 29

Key Text – 1 Chronicles 29:10 – “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.”

It’s amazing how you think you understand and have grasped something for ages and then suddenly another aspect pops up at you. Honestly we must never get to the place where we think we have sourced out everything and we stop learning. Knowledge is dynamic and what we knew twenty years ago is in some instances completely irrelevant today. Just over 25 years ago, I got exposed to the computer properly in the UK. I went to learn how to use the MSDOS programme and thought I was cool. Then in a matter of a few years, possible two or three, I found myself working in an environment where I had to use the apple macs, and my MSDOS knowledge became obsolete instantly. I never needed that knowledge again. It was windows and drop down menus, mouses and control buttons. Thank God for grace to learn new things.

A few days ago, I was reading my bible and I saw something I had read many times, but just never acknowledged. I had thought I knew why David was a man after God’s heart. I certainly guessed it was His heart of worship, or his heart for justice. Sometimes I thought it was his vulnerability for God, his courage, his tenderness towards God and his ability to obey God. All these I still believe are true and may all be part of why God so uniquely qualified him as ‘a man after His own heart’.

But permit me to add one more to the mix today. In 1 Chronicles 29, we read of David’s provision for the Temple of God in Jerusalem. His generous giving, followed by the equally generous giving of the leaders and people of Israel for this building project. Then David prayed and blessed the Lord in verse 10, he said something I have read many times, but never got the import of it.

He said “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.”

What? Our Father, forever and ever? How did he get that? In the Old Testament, the concept of God as Father was not commonly known. There are references to Him as Father and some of the prophets clearly prophesied the Fatherhood of God and many analogies and illustrations of God’s Fatherhood but there are not many that personally referred to Him as Father and had a Father son relationship with Him. I believe David did. He knew God as His Father and in this scripture, he revealed that God was His Father for all eternity. Psalm 27:10 is a pointer to this – “When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me”. Also Psalm 68:5 echoes the same thought. “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.”

One would never really know how David came to know God as His Father, but people have guessed that it was because he was not particularly favoured by his father and that he did not really enjoy his mother’s love, that drove him to become such a passionate lover of God. Whatever it was, David knew God as his Father and this is powerful. My guess David connected with the Son and through this He knew the Father. Psalm 89, Psalm 110 all point to this fact.

Do you know that one of the major tasks of Jesus was to bring to the world a fresh understanding of the Fatherhood of God? He introduced God as Father to all who would care to listen. Knowing God as Father is possibly the ultimate revelation for anyone on the face of the earth. Because all of God’s actions can best be understood from this perspective of Him being our Father. If you can read John 17, you will see that Jesus spoke about revealing and manifesting God’s name to His disciples. What was this name? Father, Daddy.

Knowing God as your Father is very liberating and reassuring. First you know He loves you totally. Nothing can ever stop Him from loving you. Secondly, You know He cares for you. God’s care is total. Thirdly, you know He is in absolute control. Think for a moment about the creator of the universe, the creator of heaven and earth, the owner of everything. The All Powerful, All Knowing, All Present God is your Father and mine. WOW! He is in absolute control of this life we live and will get the very best of for us. I am totally blown away by the Fatherhood of God in my life. Lastly, He is Father forever and ever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. You will never be without a Father. He will always be present and there for you! WOW WOW!

How do you get to know God as Father? Jesus said it simply in John 14:16 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

If you want to know God as Father, then you must know Jesus as His Son and accept Him as the only way to know God as the Father. It is that simple. Jesus is the only connection to God as Father. You cannot access the Fatherhood of God without acknowledging the Sonship and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Without this you can never understand His love for you, His mercy, His grace, His provision and His plan to have His children with Him in eternity.

Knowing Him as Father releases sonship in you. Sonship in you qualifies you for all the privileges of the Kingdom of God; these are so many that It would have to be treated some other day.

Today, just like David, open your heart and mind and consider the revelation of God as your Father forever and ever and then simply connect with Him, by accepting His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let’s Pray: Father God, today help me to reconnect with you. I acknowledge the sonship of Jesus Christ and confess Him as my Lord and Personal saviour. I believe that He died for me on the cross and rose from the dead. Please change my heart and let me know You as my Father, in Jesus name I pray. Amen.