Father to the fatherless

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Not having a father in one’s life can be painful. I know for me it was. I didn’t have the privilege of having both parents growing up, and as the years went by I noticed I wasn’t the only person. It frustrated me and became a large void difficult to fill.

‘A Father to the fatherless… is God in His holy dwelling’ Psalm 68:5

Fast forward to university – it was my birthday and I decided to attend a local church nearby. The pastor asked for birthday celebrants to come to the front so I went up. He looked at me and said “The Lord is telling me that you do not have an earthly father. This is because He wants you to understand that He is your true Father.”

It was from that day that my pain was healed, the void was filled and I understood that truly, God is a Father to the fatherless.

Of all the ways that He could have chosen to relate to us, He chose the relationship of family. He could have chosen to relate to us as the “caring boss” or “kind landlord”, but instead He chose ‘Father’. No matter what way you look at it, everyone has needs of being loved, protected, cared for and valued. Ideally, an earthly father should provide these comforts
but God is the ultimate Father who can provide these in totality without disappointment.

Sometimes God takes things away so we come to the realisation that He is our only need! Joseph, Mary’s husband played his role as an earthly father figure to Christ when he was young but along the line we hear no more of Joseph but more of God the Father. To His disciples, Christ says “do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who
is in heaven.”

To those who have suffered abuse or abandonment of their earthly fathers, be of good cheer! God is able to fill that role beyond your own expectations. You have a special place in His heart. You can speak to Him about anything (1 John 5:14), you can give Him all your worries (1 Peter 5:2), and more importantly, you can thoroughly enjoy His company at any time (1 Corinthians 1:9).

Although many times earthly fathers do not live up to the ideal, God promises that in Him we have a perfect Father.

Author: Rachel Orebote

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