Delight Yourself in the Lord Devotionals

Father to the Fatherless - Galatians 4:1-7

Father to the fatherless...this has great meaning as Father's Day approaches. There is much research that shows how vital and important fathers are in the lives of their children, especially in the realm of spirituality. While the feminist movement wants to diminish the roles and value of men, it is startling clear that godly and strong men are needed in our lives.

The 1994 study by Swiss researchers Werner Haug and Phillipe Warner showed that one of the most important factors in whether a child continues attending church as an adult is their father's attendance in church¹. You can learn about the study and see the statistics by reading the article below.

Does this study mean to say that the mother is not vital to the life of her children? Absolutely not! The Bible tells us over and over again of the value of mothers and women, not only in their families, but in the community and the church, as well. The truth is that we are all very highly aware of the devil's hate and strategy against women. We see him play it out day in and day out. He doesn't hide his loathing. Yet, when it comes to men, we seem to be asleep while the devil works overtime to destroy masculinity and leadership in the home, church, community, and world.

Without a strong father's upbringing, spiritual intervention, or a combination of both, men are either domineering or passive. God has created men and women as unique beings to partner with each other, to compliment each other, not to compete with each other. As long as the devil can keep men from being godly, he can keep homes broken and children fatherless and churches leaderless. The feminist movement has encouraged women to fight to take the roles of men in the home, church, and family themselves. This is not to say that women cannot do the jobs that men can do or that women need to be stay-at-home wives and mothers, or that women can't serve in many different roles in the church. This is not an excuse to suddenly tell women that they cannot preach God's Word or lead ministries. What this passive existence that men are being convinced to live is allowing, however, is for men to not stand up and live out their callings in God because the women fill the gaps that the men are willing to leave behind.

For those of you reading this that had absent fathers, whether physically, emotionally, or mentally absent, take heart in the fact that you are loved by the best Father of all: God. You are not fatherless, but rather, you have a Father that knows all your hurts and pains and will guide you in His love and truth to a life far better than an earthly father could ever give you. God takes the role of father very seriously and He does not deter from His love and devotion to you. Psalm 68:5 tells us that God is "a father to the fatherless" and Deuteronomy 10:18 and Psalm 146:9 tells us that God defends and sustains the fatherless, while Psalm 10:14 states that He is "the helper of the fatherless."

Now that Father's Day is coming, I would like to challenge men to assume their rightful place as spiritual fathers in their homes, churches, and communities. Believe it or not, you are vital and needed. This world wants to make you feel foolish and worthless and tell you that it doesn't matter what you do with your life, how you treat and lead others, and how you act, but it is all a lie. There are many, many broken people out there due to living a life fatherless.

I would also like to ask all those that have lived a life without their fathers to pray for God to reveal Himself to you as your Father. Pray for Him to heal those wounds that cause you to act out in different ways. Many of our hurtful actions towards others and ourselves can be traced back to a single root. Rejection, anger, abusive tendencies, depression, anxiety...I could go on...these can be traced back in many cases to the absence of a father. I want to assure you that you were never fatherless! You have always had a loving and attentive Father and He is calling to you now to come to Him and cry out, "Abba Father!" He will take you in His arms, sing His songs of love over you, and dance with you in fields of grace.

And because you [really] are [His] sons [and daughters], God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba! Father!" Galatians 4:7, AMP

Read all of Galatians 4:1-7, Amplified version here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians+4%3A1-7&version=AMP

1. https://www.christianpost.com/news/fathers-key-to-their-childrens-faith-51331/