Prepare Our Hearts

Do you ever tell your kids to, “Go ask your dad”? Generally if I send my kids to ask their dad, what I’m really doing is saying “no” indirectly. You see, he is the “no” in our family and I am the “yes”. We are rarely ever both  in unison the “yes” or both the “no”. God is our Father, and when we go and ask Him, He does say “no” on occasion but it’s been my experience that He mostly says “yes”. In fact there is a passage in Scripture that deals with us asking Him.

Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

How often we must distort our Heavenly Father’s image, with the already implanted image of our dads? My dad avoided his child support payments like the plague. Priorities in his life seemed to be set by a hoarding fixation. We are at a point now where a relationship is basically impossible, though I long for a daughter and dad relationship daily – as I’m sure somewhere in there he does as well.

Our human fathers have imperfections, they have sins, they are made from dust. Our heavenly father, however is perfect, and created us with our relationship with Him in mind. He literally set out to create a daughter or son He could love when He designed you. Just imagine Him sitting down out His desk and taking out His drawing paper and pen designing you! “A little red hair here, green eyes there and wow, I’m going to give her the most impressive set of lungs so when she sings the angels stop and listen!” Our God designed us, yes from dust, yes with the ability to fail, but also with the goal of our hearts one day being tuned to His. He designed you to be His son, His daughter, with His approval!

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 NLT

…God was using Christ to restore his relationship with humanity. He didn’t hold people’s faults against them, and He has given us this message of restored relationships to tell others. Therefore, we are Christ’s representatives, and through us God is calling you. We beg you on behalf of Christ to become reunited with God. God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through Him.

God gave His one and only Son for your life, for my life, even for our own dad’s life. He did that so that we could come back into a relationship with Him. So He could be with us. He says “let’s be restored, I approve of you!”

If God approves of you, if He wants to be with you, when you go to Him to ask for something, why are you afraid? Why are you worried? Why do you think He will not say “yes”?