The Father’s Heart for you

For a long time, I thought I understood what it meant for God to be my Father. But over the past year, He has been revealing to me that there are a lot of lies I’ve believed about His character that prevent me from truly seeing him as the compassionate, loving father He’s revealed himself to be through scripture. Somewhere along the way, I’ve come to think that God will forgive me, but he does so after an eye roll and thinking that I’m on some pretty thin ice after what I’ve done. That he can’t believe I’ve made the same mistake AGAIN. That he’s going to punish me and take away blessings in my life because he doesn’t think I’m worthy of them. Spoiler alert: none of that is true. The nature of God’s heart is to have mercy on the sinners and sufferers he calls his beloved children. Not only does he forgive, it’s his greatest JOY to forgive. It honestly makes no sense sometimes but that is simply who He is. Understanding this concept of God’s character has been a continuous learning process for me and I know God has a lot He still wants to teach me about who He is and what His heart is for me. There could be more posts to come on this topic as I continue learning and growing, but I want to take some time to share the things I’ve learned so far and hope they can encourage you as much as they’ve encouraged me.

To preface, this article is lowkey going to be a shameless plug for the book “Gentle and Lowly” by Dane Ortlund. If you’ve never read this book before it’s a MUST READ! It’s all about God’s true heart for sinners and sufferers (aka all of us). It’s based on Matthew 11:29-30,

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

There is so much to cover on this topic and Dane Ortlund does is wayyyyy better than me. So instead of giving a mediocre summary of an incredible book, I’ll share some of the personal ways God has shown his gracious heart to me as I’ve walked this out with Him.

The first example I have that I think paints a great picture of God’s gracious heart was from a few months ago when I first started dating my boyfriend. The beginning of a relationship is obviously a very exciting time and I quickly found my mind being occupied with more thoughts of him than thoughts of Jesus. When I came to this realization I started feeling guilty. I thought that God was surely mad at me for neglecting him so much more after he brought the blessing of a relationship into my life. But then I started getting panicked. He’s going to take my boyfriend away because I’m too distracted! I had one chance to prove to God I was ready for this and I blew it! The breakup was definitely on its way. I sat down with God, asked for forgiveness, and told him my fears. To my surprise, I was not met with an angry response or condemnation. I started writing what I felt the Lord speaking over me in that moment:

If I took away every single thing in your life that distracts you from me, there would be nothing left. I want to use them as learning opportunities and areas for growth. It allows me to teach you things and you to learn to desire me more than the distractions in your life. Not everything you’re distracted by is bad- in fact, a lot of it is good. I want to teach you about balancing them and how much power they hold in your mind and in your life. It’s a process so I know you’re going to be distracted but it’s ok because I will meet you with grace, mercy, and love every time. I want to show you how abundantly patient I am. I’m not like your father on earth. I draw close to pain, guilt, and mistakes. It doesn’t make sense to you right now but I am slow to anger no matter how many times you mess up. I’m going to show you this more as you navigate things with Tucker. Don’t be afraid, this is a good thing.

Ok so wow God THANK YOU!!!! And if that isn’t enough or maybe you’re skeptical about how I knew that was from God (which is totally fair), RIGHT after and I mean RIGHT after, I decided to read a Psalm. I remembered my small group leaders sent one to our group chat to read for the week so I opened to it. And here’s what one of the verses said:

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” -Psalm 145:8

The EXACT wording I just heard! And guys I had no idea this Psalm said that. Zero clue. It was such a sweet confirmation from the Lord that he truly was gracious and patient with me.

I know this may seem like a minuscule example but whether it’s being distracted from the Lord, or something you feel so much more guilt and shame from, God draws near to you because of the very thing you’re ashamed of. If you look at Jesus in the Bible, he spent his time with who society called the biggest sinners and outcasts. He brought peace and healing to them. Romans also tells us:

“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” -Romans 5:20.

The Grace of God draws near to your sin and it allows God to be glorified through it! Romans does go on to say we aren’t to just keep on sinning for fun with a free pass. True faith is seeing a real heart transformation over time that is shown by the fruit (or actions) in our lives. BUT God is still gracious and knows this is going to be a process that no one will do perfectly in this lifetime. God is not some heartless giant guy in the sky who is just waiting for the moment you mess up to pour his wrath upon you, but the very opposite. He is a Father who wants a relationship with every one of his children. Who wants you to come to him in your best and worst times. Don’t believe the lies Satan feeds to keep us away from God. Come to Him as you are and receive the love and mercy He is so excited to give to you.