A Christian Devotional About the Father’s Heart
If you are anything like me you have probably struggled with God’s will for your life, or what is the father’s heart for us. Many people in this day and age have sadly mistaken the God of the universe with some distant God who is indifferent to human pain and suffering. Sadly, that could not be further from the truth.
You see, the Christian God is a God of relationship, and a God of compassion. The father’s heart towards us is one that wills us to have peace and joy. But that comes at the price of having to yield to God and his will for our life. Because God is a God of relationship, we must realize no man is an island and we were created for community.
Firstly, we were created to spend time with God, and secondly, to spend time with other humans. Getting along with God is the easy part because God is perfect, as he was from the beginning. The hard part is getting along with other humans. We often celebrate those who celebrate us but forget about the people who have been outcast and forsaken by society.
The father’s heart for us is not only to love those who love us, but also to love the unlovable. This is because we were once enemies of God and he set his love upon us in a lavish way that we are completely undeserving of. So, reach out to the homeless man begging for money because he doesn’t know where his next meal is coming from. Show nothing but compassion and mercy to that person in your school or work who everybody gossips about. Defend the orphan because if you will not, God will.
Whatever you do for the kingdom of God, just do it to be like Jesus, to serve God, and give him glory in all things you do.
What is God’s heart for the lonely?
Oftentimes as Christians we are looking for that perfect christian partner and are constantly praying about it only for no one to be found. We plead and beg God to provide us a suitable helpmeet much of the time with lots of tears, and we wonder if we are screaming into a void.
Sometimes, God’s heart for the lonely is to bring that person closer to him in that season of waiting. This is for the purpose they may be a godlier leader or partner. Sometimes God might be working all the way across the world to orchestrate a love story only he can create.
But I think it is also worth mentioning God doesn’t want everyone to be married. God does not promise us our best life now or that we get whatever we want like spoiled children. In fact, we are promised the exact opposite. We are promised suffering and persecution in this life, but are promised a hope so great, many saints were willing to be burned at the stake for their faith.
With that in mind, some of the godliest people in history were single. The reason being is they were focused solely on God and spiritual matters. Meanwhile the married people were focused on finances, their jobs, their children, their marriage, and God.
The married people’s attention was spread so thin it was hard to be focused on God constantly and pray without ceasing.
As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:34
“The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”
You see it was a great blessing to be single because you would be closer to God.
In the long run it matters not whether God’s heart for you is to be single or married because the one who sat the earth on nothing surely can accomplish his will for you in your love life.
If God wills you to marry, be happy, as God has given you favor. And if you are single, rejoice because has deemed you so precious he wishes you to be in a closer relationship with him.
If you are lonely, pray to God to accomplish his will because ultimately it is up to God. And if God wants you to be single, he will supply all your needs emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
What is God’s heart for sinners?
God’s heart is not meant to be kept in some far away cave inside a lonely mountain. God’s heart is meant to be shared with everybody. Through sharing the gospel, we give a fallen world in despair a chance at redemption. This means God’s heart towards sinners becomes one of redemption and making every sad thing become untrue.
And yes, before you ask, yes I did just quote J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.
Throughout literature and even real life there are these stories of larger-than-life characters who started off as nothing and overcame insurmountable odds by the power of God.
From a little nobody Hobbit in the shire with a pure heart, to the hero of Middle Earth. Or as we see in real life, a baby born in a manger with his parents having no place to stay to the Godman who freed us from the bondage of sin and death.
Although Jesus was never any ordinary man, he felt like us, was tempted like us, and even suffered like us, but yet never sinned in word or deed.
It is through his life that God’s heart for sinners is shown. He was willing to lay down his life for the sake of bringing many sons to glory.
As the scripture says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
But here is the thing about that scripture, it says lay down his life for his friends. This makes God’s heart towards sinners even more apparent that while we were enemies of God, he was still willing to die on the cross for our justification.
Imagine every person you have ever came across hating you for no reason including people you have never met. They mock you, laugh at you, gossip about you, and yet they have truly never gotten to know you. It makes no sense right?
But here is the thing about that statement, that perfectly sums up Jesus’ 33 years of life in his earthly ministry. Yet, unlike you and I, he did not mock back, did not laugh back, and did not gossip back. Instead, his heart so pure and full of love was moved to compassion. He forgave them, and then not only loved the world with words, but in action through dying on the cross.
He did this so the people who reviled him, could join and share in eternity with him.
As humans we are all sinners, but because of Christ’s work on the cross we will all be welcomed into heaven with the same greeting as the man who parted the red sea.
Well done my good and faithful servant is all we should hope to hear.
This whole story is about Christ, may his name and glory be praised for all eternity. For without him we have no hope.