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Jan 09, 2025 18:00pm

What Now?: God

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The following comes from the devotional book “What Now?” by Ashley Akers. To learn more, go to www.whatnowdevo.com.

God

Do you trust God? Sometimes people struggle to trust God because their earthly father was untrustworthy. Some dads don’t keep their promises and trust is lost. Maybe your dad was not present in your life or didn’t give you the love you needed. On the other hand, if someone had a great dad who was always present in their life and who loved them unconditionally, it may be easier for them to trust God.

Trusting a Heavenly Father can be difficult if rejection is all you have known. You may ask, “How could a Heavenly Father love me?” “How could I truly trust Him?” Hesitation is a natural response when you have experienced a difficult upbringing.

Trusting God was a challenge for me at first and I felt hesitant. I compared God to my earthly father, even though they were complete opposites. I thank God for His patience because He has never failed me. But sometimes the enemy lies to me, whispering I cannot trust God and trying to compare God and my earthly father. There is no comparison. Period.

Luke 1:37 says,

For nothing will be impossible with God.

God is all-powerful. He can do anything! The verses before this Scripture tell us of the virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. She had never been with a man and God gave her a perfect child, Jesus. We say that this is impossible, but not with God.

God is also all-knowing. Psalm 139:1-3 says

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

God knows! He knows everything about everything and everybody. He knows your heart, your thoughts and even how many hairs are on your head (Luke 12:7). To think that God knows our thoughts can seem scary, but He is approachable. James 4:8a says,

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

God knows that we sin, but He still wants us to draw near to Him. He wants a relationship with us! He wants us to bring our burdens, hurts and struggles and lay them at His feet—condemnation free because of Jesus. He loves us.

1 John 4:16 (NIV) says,

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Did you notice the word rely? I love this. Reliance proves the confidence we can have in God’s love for us and that we can trust Him completely. He will never leave us and will never stop loving us. No matter how much love you did or did not receive from your earthly father, it will never compare to the love that God has for each one of us.

Reflection Questions

1. How does your earthly father differ from your Heavenly Father?

2. While the characteristics of God mentioned is a short list, how can you know that God is all those things and more?