What’s your idea of God? When you pray, ‘Our Father,’ what do you see? Do you see a parent who abandoned you? Do you think of an angry father who punished but never encouraged you? In other words, do you see a God waiting to zap you each time you do wrong? But the reality is that God is completely the opposite, so if any of those things are what you see, listen to this verse from the Bible: ‘The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing’ (v. 17 NKJV). Let’s break this Scripture down: 1) ‘The Lord your God in your midst.’ He isn’t some distant deity, but an up-close-and-personal Father who loves His redeemed children so much, more than we could imagine. 2) ‘The Mighty One, will save.’ When you hear the word ‘mighty’, think of Hercules a billion times over – and you still won’t even be close to imagining God’s strength and power. Today you may be feeling weak, but He is strong. Your sins may be big, but His saving grace is bigger (see Romans 5:20). 3) ‘He will rejoice over you with gladness.’ Every time God looks at you, He smiles and rejoices. You make His heart glad. He’s delighted to call you His child 4) ‘He will quiet you with His love.’ IMagine a loving parent holding a crying baby and saying, ‘Shush, shush, it’s okay, I’m here, I love you.’ The baby is comforted, feels secure, and goes to sleep. That’s what God does for us. 5) ‘He will rejoice over you with singing.’ God sings about you! So next time you hear or speak the words ‘Our Father’, try imagining the picture of our perfect, loving God instead!
