The Way of the Father: Lessons From My Dad, Truths About GodSample

One of the reasons many people struggle with viewing God as a good Father is because something very bad has happened in their lives. Or maybe even a list of hard hits. Today’s passage offers us insight into one of life’s toughest questions, while showing us one of the many paradoxes of the Gospel: When we are weak, God can be strong in us.

For our ongoing battles in the physical, mental, or emotional realms of life, taking on the mindset and attitude like Paul did reflects great spiritual maturity. When our Abba Father doesn’t answer our prayers for healing the way we think He should, for ourselves or a loved one, the temptation often comes to question His goodness, to doubt His love and care for us. But, I believe one of the reasons Paul’s deeply personal struggle is shared in Scripture has to be to show us that God will do what is best for us. He will ultimately bring us to the end goal of becoming like Jesus.

We have to keep reminding ourselves, especially in Western culture Christianity, that God’s goal for us is holiness, which doesn’t always translate into happiness. Happiness is temporary, while holiness attained is permanent. While true for the Christ-follower, that is a hard reality to accept for us all. As for me, I watched my dad allow God to make him more like Jesus, when of course, in many circumstances throughout his life, he would have preferred to be healed. Yet, part of his testimony and legacy today is what it is because of the pain and his personal “thorn.” Holiness won out over happiness.

Living in a fallen world, the likelihood of having a thorn come into our lives is not a matter of if but when. Whatever your pain may be today, whether chronic or new, physical or emotional, I want to encourage you to seek the perspective that the Apostle Paul and my dad chose to take. Pray always for God’s intervention, but also allow Him to use the circumstances to shape you into the image of Jesus. For the Christ-follower, the best is always yet to come, because even when life gets hard to handle, Heaven is on the way.

What is your “thorn”?

Have any tough circumstances in life affected your view of God?

Take a few minutes to talk with your Father about how you need His strength today.