"Yet this couldn’t be further from the truth."

A thought by Michael Todd, from his book, Crazy Faith. (p. 31). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And that for sure is the truth.

Michael says, "If you had an absent father or a parent who fell significantly short of giving you the love, care, provision, and attention that you craved as a child, it may be hard to have childlike faith in a Father you cannot physically see. Psychological studies tell us that we human beings tend to associate the attributes of our primary father figure (or lack thereof) with God. If you couldn’t count on your earthly father, it’s harder, statistically speaking, for you to put your trust in God. You may have a tendency to correlate the earthly dad who never showed up for your birthday parties and soccer games with a heavenly Father who won’t come through when you need Him."

He continues, "Yet this couldn’t be further from the truth. God is actually omnipresent, which means present always and everywhere; it’s just that He’s invisible. And it’s more difficult for someone who already has a hard heart to have faith in something or someone he can’t physically see. One of the names of Jesus is Immanuel, which means 'God is with us' (Matthew 1:23). The real question is, Are we aware of His presence?"

He goes on, "What I’m asking you to do in this moment is to allow the Holy Spirit to soften your heart so you can forgive your earthly father and let God be Abba, Daddy, your Father in heaven who will never die, never disappoint you, never leave you, and never reject you. God is the Father who has been with you all along. Don’t allow unforgiveness to harden your heart to the only love that can heal you."

He then says, "We may not be able to see God Himself in the flesh, but we can see His provision, feel His love for us, and live surrounded by the grace and favor He gives His children. God is a loving, active Father. He’s never made a promise that He didn’t keep, and His Word is full of great and precious promises. He wants to help you learn to trust again and to lean on Him like a little child should be able to lean on her dad. He knows that you may not be ready to run full speed into His arms yet, and He’s okay with that. He just wants you to take a few baby steps in faith. You can start by simply acknowledging Him. All it takes for Him to turn around an impossible situation is a mustard seed of baby faith."

So, would you right now simply acknowledge Him? Would you do that? Yes, yes! #continethought

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