God Is a Fun Father - First15 - August 5
God is a Fun Father
Weekly Overview:
There is no better father than Creator God. He formed us and knows us. He provides for us, loves us unconditionally, and longs for real, life-giving relationship with us. He runs out to meet us in our sin, clothes us with new identity, and restores to us the abundant life he has always planned for us. As we spend time looking at the father heart of God, may a fresh revelation of his love for you guide you into greater depths of relationship with your heavenly Father.
Scripture:“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” Psalm 30:11-12
Devotional:
There is a terrible misconception in the church today that our Father is not a fun God. For most Christians, what they know of God comes through worship services rather than direct encounters with the living God. As the body of Christ, we have not cultivated a culture of restored relationship well. But regardless of faults in the church today, God longs to give you a revelation of how incredibly fun it is to have him as your Father. He longs to guide you into a lifestyle of abundant joy as you grow in your relationship with him.
While God’s fun may look different than the world’s, every form of fun apart from his is a cheap imitation. We see countless examples in Scripture of God’s children experiencing a depth of joy unattainable apart from God. David writes in Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The fullness of fun is found with God because he alone guides us to the path of true life. He alone frees us, heals us, loves us, rejoices over us, has grace for us, and longs to fully satisfy our desires. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” God longs to lead you to the fullness of life today. He longs to guide you to the riches of his love that you might experience how fun it is to be truly loved by your Creator, Sustainer, and Lord.
Our Father loves parties. He loves to celebrate and have fun with his children. Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 says, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy.” Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine to keep a wedding feast going (John 2:1-11). The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is the story Jesus told of an earthly father and son and a parallel to our relationship with the heavenly Father. When the prodigal son returns home, the father tells his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:22-24). While the older son was out in the field, he heard everyone celebrating with music and dancing. He couldn't help but go see what was going on. And Revelation 19 foretells the great marriage supper of the Lamb where we will celebrate our total and complete union with God, the party to end all parties.
Psalm 30:11-12 says, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” Your heavenly Father longs to lead you to the fullness of fun today. He longs to clothe you with gladness and turn your mourning into dancing. The God you serve is the inventor of fun. He loves to celebrate with his children. He longs to fill your days with that which will satisfy the deepest longings of your heart, including your need for fun. May you encounter the fun heart of your heavenly Father today as you enter into guided prayer.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on God’s desire to give you a fun life. Allow Scripture to reorient your understanding of what it’s like to live life with your heavenly Father.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11
“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” Psalm 30:11-12
“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy.” Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
2. Where do you need more fun in your life? Where do you need God to clothe you with gladness? Where do you need to experience the abundant life Jesus died to give you?
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to have the fullness of fun today. What is he providing for you that you might experience all the joy and celebration available to you? What is keeping you from living a more fun life? He wants to free you today. Spend timing resting in his presence and allow him to do a work in your heart today.
Sometimes we hold to an idea that advancing the kingdom and having fun don’t go together. We leave parties and fun to others as we are too busy with more important matters. But why would a nonbeliever want to get to know a boring God? Why would they want to spend time with a group of boring people? As children of God, we have the greatest source of joy available. We should be the happiest, most fun, and most loving people the lost will ever encounter. It’s in our joy, love, and fun that we will best advance the kingdom. It’s living the abundant life God longs to give us that will encourage others to want to know the God we serve. May you advance the kingdom of your heavenly Father by living today with the fullness of fun.
Extended Reading: Luke 15
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