GOD— My Everlasting Father

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

“Everlasting Father” …….. If we ever needed a strong father figure in our lives, it is now.  Our Father’s strength and truth provides stability in our lives, so that we can feel secure when the sand seems to be shifting all around us.

Romans 8:15 (Amplified Bible) puts it this way: “….you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship…]  

When you surrendered your life to Christ, you were adopted into the family.  God Almighty became your Father.  A well-meaning father always watches out for his children—How much more would our Heavenly Father watch out for us!!

“Everlasting” means without end…no matter what…from now on….   Now that really adds stability, doesn’t it.?  As long as we are on this green earth (and of course, beyond in Heaven) we will always have a Daddy that we can lean on and trust!  All I can says is:  AMAZING!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Isaiah 26:3   God’s peace
• Hebrews 13:5b  [AMP]   Never leave you without support
• I Chronicles 29:11  Everlasting to everlasting!

Prayer Focus:

Spend time today thanking Him that He is “Father” to you.  Tell Him today that you are trusting Him to watch out for you, and thank Him that He will be you every minute of every day. 

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NOTE:  If you have not surrendered your life to Christ, then you can do that right now.  Bow your heart before Him now and pray.

Father, I know that I am on the outside looking in because I have not submitted my life to You.  Forgive me for resisting You, Lord.  Forgive me for all of my sins.  I so want to be in Your family and to know that You are with me all the time and that we have a relationship.  Jesus, come into my heart and be my Lord and my Savior.  Help me to live my life for God, my Father.  Thank You, Jesus.  Amen.

 GOD- My Restorer

Psalm 23:1-3New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul…

Each of us are made up of a body, a soul and a spirit.  Our souls are the “house” that our emotions and our thoughts live in.  Those thoughts and emotions cause us to make either good or bad choices.  If our soul is healthy, we will make healthy choices.  To keep our souls healthy, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and what He did for us at the cross.

There are so many things in our lives that can cause our souls to be fragmented where we feel like we are at loose ends and out of sorts.  

God is the Restorer of our souls.  He’s the One who settles us down so we can receive His truth.  When our souls are restored our hope is restored, our faith is restored, and our vision for the future is restored.  We sense that we are in the presence of God and His peace becomes so evident to us.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Jeremiah 30:17  He restores us to health

• Amos 9:11    He rebuilds the brokenness

• Philippians 4:7   He restores our peace

Prayer Focus:

When your thoughts start to run away with you, begin to thank God that He restores your thoughts and your emotions to health so that you can think right and react right—-and enjoy God’s peace!

GOD- My Advocate

John 15:26   Amplified Bible (AMP)

But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes, Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.

An “advocate” is one who is called along side of another to plead that one’s case.  God is our very own “advocate.”  He knows our case well and  He defends us, helps us, strengthens us and stands by us, no matter what we are going through.  He is “at the ready,” to intervene and take over……when we invite Him to.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman.  He waits to be asked to enter a situation.  We can feel all alone—thinking that He is far away and doesn’t even care, when the truth of the matter is He is right beside us waiting to be asked to come into the situation.

He is our “Advocate” and He is also all those other capitalized words in the scripture above.  And that is so very good to know!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Hebrews 13:5b

• John 16:7

• John 14:26

Prayer Focus:

Begin to praise God that He is all of those “capitalized words” to you.

God- My Friend

John 15:15  (NKJV)

15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

When we think of the word “friend,” we think of someone we can talk to, someone who will listen and someone who will partner with us through the good times and the not so good times.

The Greek meaning for “friends” in this verse means “companion” and “associate.”  (Strong’s Concordance No. 5384)

A friend is someone who we associate with and is a companion to us. Think about it…..in this verse Jesus is saying, “no longer do I call you servants.”  Servants just do what they are told and they have no understanding why.  When you are a friend of God, He takes the time to understand you and to explain to you why things happen.  When you think of it, any good father would—IF you talk to Him.

If Moses and Abraham can be a friend of God, you can be a friend of God.  Talk to God as a friend and as you listen to Him as a friend, you will enter into a new level of relationship with Him.

GPS (God’s Directions)

• Exodus 33:11  Moses was a friend of God
• Proverbs 18: 24  Jesus sticks close like a brother
• James 2:23  Abraham was a friend of God

Prayer Focus:

Spend time praising God with this song.

Song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcxKRsn-hGc

God- My Shelter

Joel 3:16New King James Version (NKJV)

The Lord also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the Lord will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.

God shelters us from the storms of life.  He covers us and protects us and it feels so good not to be alone. 

Truth always trumps our feelings.  Here is another truth:

He shall cover you with His feathers,  And under His wings you shall take refuge;  His truth shall be your shield and buckler.  (Psalms 91:4)

When our feelings try to overtake us, we can say:  “Here’s what I know for sure……..”

Fear…..Hebrews 13:5b Amplified Bible 

Brokenness……I Thessalonians 5:23 The Message

Hopelessness…..Luke 18:27 

Needs……Philippians 4:19

Worry….I Peter 5:7

……and the list goes on and on!!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• Psalms 91:2  Refuge

• Ephesians 6:16   Shield

• Psalms 27:5   Secret Place 

Prayer Focus:

Begin to praise God for those things that you “know for sure.”  

  God-  My Strength

Psalm 43:2  Amplified Bible (AMP)

For You are the God of my strength [my Stronghold—in Whom I take refuge];

When I read this verse, I think of crawling up into my “Heavenly Daddy’s” lap when I feel weak and vulnerable.  I am so thankful that I am not in this life alone and I can run to this place of refuge and find my strength in Him.

Psalms 18:2 in the Amplified Bible has lots of Greek words that make this even clearer.  Here they are:  

My Rock
My Fortress
My Deliverer  
My God
My Strength
My Shield
My Horn  (Strength and Light)
My High Tower

These are some very descriptive words that describe the immensity of our wonderful God.

Sometimes life throws us a curve ball.  At that point we have a choice—worry or run into “Daddy’s” arms.  It’s in His arms that we get truth and direction.  It’s in His arms that we gain strength to stand up and tackle the situation before us.  

God and us together are strong against the forces that are coming against us.  Worry weakens you even more, so we can’t afford to go there.  The outcome would not be good!

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• 2 Kings 6:16

• Isaiah 30: 15b  NLT

• Exodus 15:2

Prayer Focus:

Spend some time thanking God out loud, using the list above.  Thank You, God, that You are my Rock, my Fortress…”

   God— My Deliverer

Psalm 34:4 (NKJV)

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Does God really hear my prayers?  The Bible says that He does, and I know from personal experience that He does.  I didn’t always know that.  At first, I thought He was too big to hear my little prayers, but now I know that He cares about everything that I have concerns about and He has all the answers.

There are so many possible “fears” out there these days.  Fear of financial failure…fear of disease…..fear for your children….and the list goes on and on.  When fear comes in the day or in the night, God has the promise that delivers us from that thought.  Here’s what we can say the minute the fearful thought comes:  

“What are we going to do about this, God?” 

 He is the One who has the solution to every situation that we feel trapped in.  By the way, one of the meanings for deliver is “release.”  Do you want to be released from all fear?  Call on your Deliverer.

GPS  (God’s Directions)

• I John 5: 14-15     God hears
• Psalms 91: 15       Rescue
• 2 Samuel 22:2      My Deliver

Prayer Focus:

Make a list of those things that you are worrying about—those things that are too big for you—and say, “What are we going to do about this, God?”