Lord God Almighty, I “hallow” You today, acknowledging that You are the Lord and King, thrice holy and set apart, pure, sacred, and perfect. There is no sin in You, unlike all earthly parents. I pray for so many to become believers, for anyone still living in our inborn sin cannot enter Your holy presence.
But for those who are “in Christ,” trusting in His justifying work alone for salvation, You are our heavenly Father (e.g., Rom. 4:24-5:11; Eph. 1:3-14; Eph. 2:1-10).
My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands!
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, He has riches untold.
(“A CHILD OF THE KING,” BUELL, H. E., 1877)
“I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,” says the Lord Almighty (2 Cor. 6:18 ESV).
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God (1 Jn. 3:1 ESV).
I’m a CHILD of the King!
In Your uniquely perfect and unchanging hesed love as my Father, I no longer need to fear Your deserved wrath for sin, in terror and dread. Through Jesus, I now have an intimate and close relationship with You as my Father, in covenant love. You’ve gifted me with Your permanent love and credited His righteousness to me! Hallelujah!
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21 ESV).
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn. 2:1 ESV).
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6 ESV).
My Father’s own Son, the Savior of men,
once wandered on earth as the poorest of them;
but now He is reigning forever on high,
and will give me a home in heav’n by and by.
You are my gracious and loving Father, even when I’m suffering in this life
Father, help me re-realize this fantastic “family” truth into this week’s stress and sadness, when the Accuser tempts me to forget. Please help me to quickly re-turn to Jesus in each trial, in each temptation to sin. For Jesus is my “older brother” (Rom. 8:29) who suffered far worse than I ever could (Heb. 2:10-13).
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
provided we suffer with him
in order that we may also be glorified with him (Rom. 8:15-17 ESV).
Father, please help me to remember that You give good gifts to me…as I suffer (Mt. 7:9-11; Jas. 1:17). The best gift is that, in everything I’m suffering through, You are actively conforming me to the image of Your Son! (Rom. 8:29).
I’m a child of the KING!
And one day? Each child of the King is a fellow heir with Jesus! Father, I’m so excited to be with You one day, with my entire family of those who are in Christ, in Your consummated kingdom. This is my living hope as I wait to see You.
I once was an outcast stranger on earth,
a sinner by choice, an alien by birth!
But I’ve been adopted, my name’s written down,
an heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
My heavenly Father of love, by Your indwelling Spirit, please help me to walk in Your way, conquering by trusting You as I suffer. For Jesus says…
My gracious Father, please help me to tell You everything and praise You, today and every day of my earthly suffering. Because I’m a child of the King!
A tent or a cottage, why should I care?
They’re building a palace for me over there!
Though exiled from home, yet still may I sing:
all glory to God, I’m a child of the King.
With Jesus, my Savior, I’m a child of the King.
In the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords, my older brother Jesus Christ, amen.
Material adapted from Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle. Copyright © 2022
Singing praise to our Abba Father
Sisters in Christ, this blog’s followers are sisters from over 60 countries! Can you imagine the day we will all meet and sing praise to our heavenly Father together, to the praise of His glorious grace to us? As we wait for that day, let’s sing praise to Him this week too.
Yes, it can be hard when our emotions are anything but happy. But I’ve discovered that telling our Abba Father everything that’s hard and singing of who He is…can become His gift to stir our hearts to praise Him. As we sing of our gospel hope in Christ and remember who we are in Christ, children of the King, our emotions often follow!
What a loving gift of our Father’s grace to us!
I’ve professionally curated a YouTube list with lyrics we can use to sing to our heavenly Father as we suffer. It’s rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, centered in Scriptural truth, and my gift to you if you’re suffering too. It has helped my heart dance and rejoice, into hard moments of pain and sorrow. Praise God! If it might bless you in this hard week, sign up here, and it will come to your email so we can sing to Him!
