I recently came across @thedolapolawal message about what it really means to call God “Father.” It sounds simple, it is something I’ve said in prayers, in songs for as long as I can remember, yet somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t living like someone who truly believed it.
I’ve been walking around like a child trying to prove she’s worthy to stay in the house, instead of a daughter who already belongs there.
Always trying to earn rest, earn favor, earn love, even though all along, my father’s arms were open.
The preacher said, “Many of us are living like spiritual orphans; praying to a God who loves us, but still acting like He might leave us.” And I felt that deeply. Because that’s exactly how I’ve been living; cautious with my heart, afraid to do too much, as if I could exhaust His patience, doubtful if he is really there or if I am really that important to Him and using my own logic forgetting He is the wisdom before time began.
But that’s not who He is.
Romans 8:15 reminds me, “You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father.’”
When I sit with those words, I realize how often I’ve forgotten that I’m loved, not for what I do, but because of who He is.
He didn’t just forgive me; He adopted me. He didn’t just save me; He called me His own.
And in the quiet moments when I feel lost or small, I’m learning to whisper again, “I’m not fatherless.”
Because I’m not. He never left.
He’s been here all along, in the silence, in the waiting, in the gentle ways He keeps drawing me back home.
So today, I’m choosing to rest not to earn His approval, but because I already have it.
I’m learning to live like a daughter again.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:18)
Reflection:
Maybe you should pause and ask yourself; Am I living like a loved child or like someone still trying to earn love? Let that question draw you back into His arms. 💛
With love,
Florence 💕
ReflectWithFlo