“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Galations 4:4-7
God the Father is one of the members of the Holy Trinity. He is first a father, and when we become one of His children, He became our Heavenly Father and we gained all privileges of sonship. The Bible is full of descriptions and demonstrations of the tender care of our Heavenly Father. Here are just a few:
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:8)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3)
He will tend his flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11)
For anyone who has felt the pain of an absent, neglectful, or abusive earthly father, once you receive Father God as your Heavenly Father, the door has opened for you to be fathered by the perfect Father, who is able to restore all that was lacking in your father-starved heart.
It’s also a stunning truth that we are made in the image of God. And, as such, Father God has instilled in us certain characteristics of His father’s heart. If you were born a man-child, then you were automatically imbued with the foundational building blocks–or let’s call it the spiritual DNA— of your Heavenly Father. And, therefore, He has purposed that you would grow in the image and likeness of this “Father DNA”. That Father DNA is not only meant to be stewarded in you, but it is also meant to be passed on and imparted to others. God intends for every person He has created to be “fathered” and even if we don’t get that from our own earthly father, He has made other provisions. I believe every man of God carries the mandate to father, if not biologically then certainly spiritually.
For men with abortion wounds, this mandate can seem unattainable. When you know you can’t fix your own heart, your only recourse is to deny your heart of what it really needs. Perhaps spiritual heart disease can be defined as those parts of your heart that have stopped beating. And the parts of your heart that are still beating require a tremendous amount of labor just to breathe. When a man’s heart has grown numb, he cannot hear the beating heart of his children.
However, in God’s Kingdom, He makes all things new. It’s not that God takes a giant eraser and removes all our choices and their consequences, but if we repent and cry out for His mercy, He will forgive our debts and begin to weave a new story in our life with a beautiful redemptive red thread from His own blood. He brings beauty from ashes. He takes a broken heart and breathes life and restores the father’s heart to His.
Today, let’s pray for a restoration of the hearts of our fathers (our husbands, our sons, our grandsons) to the heart of the Father.
Father God, we honor you as our good Father. We thank you that in you we are sons (or daughters) and that you have given each man the heart of a father. Lord, where there has been wounding causing the men in our lives to not be able to be the father you have called them to be, Lord Jesus, would you heal and restore those places of their father’s hearts and enable them to be the mighty men, protectors and providers and warriors that you have called them to be. Thank you Lord that your Father DNA is in them. We call it forth, we say come forth in Jesus Name and for faith to arise and every man to embrace His father mantle, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Today’s post was excerpted from Karen Ellison’s book Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear .)
Karen Ellison is the founder and president of the Deeper Still ministry. She lives in Knoxville, TN with her husband, Arthur. Karen enjoys long walks, sunshine, and hikes in the beautiful mountains of East Tennessee. It is her heart to see all those suffering from the wounds of abortion set free and healed.