DAILY GRACE, SUNDAY, JUNE 18TH, 2023 (FATHER’S DAY).
A GODLY FATHER
TEXT: PSALM 78:1-7
VERSE OF THE DAY:
_“FOR HE ESTABLISHED A TESTIMONY IN JACOB, AND APPOINTED A LAW IN ISRAEL, WHICH HE COMMANDED OUR FATHERS, THAT THEY SHOULD MAKE THEM KNOWN TO THEIR CHILDREN: THAT THE GENERATION TO COME MIGHT KNOW THEM, EVEN THE CHILDREN WHICH SHOULD BE BORN; WHO SHOULD ARISE AND DECLARE THEM TO THEIR CHILDREN”- PSALMS 78:5-6._
Today is Fathers Day and I want us to take a sobering look at what fatherhood entails. Fathering a child is, for many, not difficult. But being a father is! It is the first and most important decision of fathers: to make a conscientious choice to be a father. The decision to be a father is a daily decision. Being a good father means making tough, sacrificial decisions. Decisions that tell our children what is important to us.
Of all the fathers in the Bible, one stands out for his decision to be a godly father. His name is Mordecai. He consciously decided to be an adoptive father to his orphaned cousin, Esther. He could be called the father of courage because he instilled this trait in his daughter. Mordecai raised his daughter to take a stand at the right time, to do the right thing.
Esther must have trusted Mordecai greatly, for she determined to stand before the king for her people when she said “And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16) These were words of faith and courage. Words that a daughter could say because she was raised by a father who made the right decisions. Remember this: a crisis does not develop character; a crisis reveals character. The character Esther revealed was what she learnt from observing her father’s character.
Usually, when we study the story of Esther, we see her strength and devotion to her people. But God used someone else in this story to accomplish His purpose. God used a faithful father ~ a father who taught a young daughter to have courage in her convictions. At the right time, Esther did the right thing, because she had been raised by a godly father.
We thank God for all godly fathers who have taken a stand to be godly, responsible and available fathers to their children. To such fathers, we say happy Father’s Day!
PRAYER: Dear Lord, we bring all fathers before You today and we ask for Your grace upon their lives in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
BIBLE IN 365 DAYS:
Isa 50
Rev 20
ACTION POINT:
FATHERS, MAKE A CONSCIENTIOUS CHOICE TO BE GODLY FATHERS.
