The Father Loves You

John 16:23-30

As a small child whom did you run to when you needed or wanted something, was it your mother or your dad?  In my case it was always mother, and as I got older she would say go ask your dad.  Now dad was not a push over so I would try almost anything to not ask dad for help.  As I got older I stopped asking and if I wanted something I would work to acquire it.  In fact, my wants drove my performance, and because of my wants, I became goal centered on getting my needs met, by working smart and hard, and in our society I was deemed successful.  But this is going to come back and bite me, in that my flesh has learned how to get its needs met outside of God, I call that independent living, and so does God. 

Do you understand that my flesh loved being thought of as being successful, it loved the entire ramification of being consider a success?  When I ask Jesus into my heart at the age of 27, it did not change my methods; in fact, I found that hard work and performance also got the acclaims of the pastor and others who were important in the church.  If your not a Baptist this may not hold true, but in the Baptist church if you are willing to work, they will pile it on till you are so busy that you ignore time with God, time with family and friends, but you are getting stroked by those who are in charge.  One small problem, it is you doing and it is flesh, and the end result is failure.  I can testify to this, and I came to the same conclusion as the great king Solomon, “for all is vanity and a striving after the wind.”

If you identify with what I’m saying, remember I said it is going to come back and bite you, this form of living in your abilities, living independently of God’s authority.  Never forget, it is not what man thinks of your actions, but what God knows about your heart. Listen to Jesus, “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24 ESV)

Now stay with me, what did I learn as a child, that dad was the one who often said no to my wants, and now Jesus is telling me to ask the Father.  I’ve also learned that I can get most of what I want by hard work and using the talents that God has given me.  What I did not learn was to by faith believe that Jesus tells the truth.   So I find myself needing God, but going back to self or others.  And often when asking the Father in prayer, I wonder, will God answer me?  James has this to say about such prayers; “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

(James 1:6-8 ESV)

This battle has raged in me for many years, the wondering if God will, and I’ve come to this understanding; JESUS TELLS THE TRUTH. “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

(John 16:26-27 ESV)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice