The Heart of Our Heavenly Father by David Weber

David Weber

What a father communicates to his child is critical. No earthly father is perfect but our experience with our own fathers influences our perception of our Heavenly Father.

Our society bears all the wounds of a fatherless culture. The concept of what is a family has been under attack for a generation. The father led family has been under attack fueled by the sexual revolution and government policies that seem compassionate but encouraged the breakup of the nuclear family ie. welfare rules that financially rewarded childbearing only for single parent households. The poor segments of our society in particular have subsequently suffered terribly from fatherlessness as a result. It’s destroyed the family unit.

Married with Children - a Fox media invention was the first blatant portrayal that I became aware of that portrays the father of a TV family as a selfish weak minded fool - the clown of the family. Hollywood and then the internet has used the allure and powerful attraction that sexuality has over people and pounded society with content whose message is that sanctity of the marriage covenant is out of date.

The marriage covenant is the foundation of a civil and functioning society. Fatherhood has been under attack. The messaging is “do whatever feels good to you” - so what if it destroys your covenant with the family. So much for the medias perversion of the concept of Father. Ultimately this is Satan’s attack on the nature and character of our Heavenly Father who is the model of what a father should be.

 I had two very different father experiences growing up. The first was loving affectionate - the second disdainful. My natural father had to bathe and care for me when my Mom was carrying my sister which lead to a close bond. I never doubted that my father loved me unconditionally. It’s not something that a kid thinks about - you just know it. Let me give you an example:

I was probably just old enough to begin learning to form sentences. My father and my uncle and cousin and I climbed into our 1950’s era cream colored Chrysler Imperial and I just assumed my place standing on the bench seat next to my father when he sternly said, “ David get in the backseat” I protested but he repeated it more sternly and I sat in the back, but feeling wounded. I can remember trying to formulate a complete thought in response, working it out slowly in my head as we made our way down the road. Finally, as articulate as I could muster, I announced, “Some day when I get big I’m going to be driving the car and I’m going to make you sit in the back seat.”

My Dad slammed on the brakes - stopped the car. He got out and disappeared around the back of the car barking “David stay in the car!” My uncle and cousin followed him. For many years following I thought that I had crossed some line and Dad was really ticked off at my attitude. But at a family reunion many years later, that cousin recalled the incident and his version was different than mine. He said, “When you were a little kid I remember you mouthing off to your Dad that time and him slamming on the brakes and getting out of the car. I thought oh boy is David going to get it now”  (my uncle could be somewhat harsh). He continued, “When your dad did that I got out of the car with my dad and went back to see what your dad was doing. He was sitting on the bumper laughing hysterically trying not to make any noise putting his finger to his lips, ‘shhhh’ he said to keep us quiet. When he recovered his composure he shook his head and we all got back in the car and started off again.”  I was glad to hear that revision because it just reinforces how much my dad delighted in me.

Regardless of your earthly father experience your Heavenly Father delights in you!

The Book of Proverbs records several chapters of instruction to ‘my son’ indicating a father’s mentoring. That is a fathers function - to mentor his children in Godly wisdom. Many of our fathers failed in this regard. Our Heavenly Father knows that. We know that all wisdom flows from our Heavenly Father. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” For many believers, how we relate to our heavenly Father is related to our experience with our own father.

For me my father died when I was eight but by that time I had experienced his total acceptance and knew his love for me. By the time he left us he had left me with a sense of my own value and significance. Today I know that my father loved me. However his death at that time left a huge void in me. As much as I had felt that I belonged, I then felt extremely detached and very much alone.

We are social beings and need one another. The loss of my father gave me recurring nightmares of being on a spaceship alone hurtling away from earth into the cold lonely blackness of space. In this nightmare, the more I asserted myself to return, the faster I accelerated away. It was a self reinforcing panic attack in a dream state from which I would awaken so panicked that I was in a state of blindness called blind hysteria.

These episodes would recur and I was terrified to go to sleep for fear of them until one night I laid down and once again sensed that panic like a demonic entity was trying to smother me. I didn’t know much about Jesus or salvation but I had heard about God and He seemed very much like my father. I cried out to Him,“please help me! Don’t let me dream these dreams again.” In my own way I surrendered my life to God  that night telling him that I’d choose to live my life for Him if he would deliver me.

My Heavenly Father took me for my word. Instantly I felt totally relaxed and fell peacefully asleep waking seemingly a moment later, and it was morning. I felt incredibly alive and completely at peace. My Heavenly Father in His mercy had rescued me. Years later I asked the Lord why I never felt that salvation experience that many claim occurs when they know enough to make a commitment to Christ. He brought me back to that experience and showed me that my rescue was my salvation experience.

Regardless of your situation your Heavenly Father hears your desperate cry.

God wasn’t portrayed in the Old Testament as “Father” it wasn’t until Jesus became the son. As we read about Jesus we find what his speech and actions teach us about the nature of His Heavenly Father. He directs us as He did to pray to the Father. He hears the Father and obediently does what the Father is telling Him to do. In everything - even his torture and death experience He has total trust in His Father.

We can also have that kind of trust when we know that He is trustworthy. So many believers today have a hard time relating to Father God because of their earthly experiences with their father.

We, having an understanding of covenant have a better understanding of the greater entity blessing the lessor. It pleases the Father to provide for our good. Often if we’re truthful we wonder if he hears us. If we find ourselves striving to please Him it might be because we are bargaining.

That is natural for us in this world but being transactional with God defies covenant. There is a difference in doing works for God in covenant rather than working for God transactionally. The difference? Motive! Why are we doing it. Are we performing for love or are we performing out of our love and desire to please Him because we know his love? Are we bargaining with God for a blessing afraid that He won’t supply our need?

I guess that that is the whole point of this talk isn’t it. Our Father in heaven will provide as He intends. Do we truly trust Him? Completely? Sometimes I realize that I have to adjust my thinking about this. You know we have nothing of value to God to bargain with. All of our good works mean nothing if we present them in the context of a trade for what we are asking for. Often people don't realize it but they are bargaining with God instead of understanding that he has already provided everything we only need to ask.

Coming to Him thinking that our good works approve us will achieve nothing because “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” So our approach should be to come with empty hands. Yes we give tithes and offerings but we give them to those on earth and in our giving the father does bless us. I love what Skip Moen related in the beatitudes: “In essence, we come to the father naked and penniless and he clothes us and blesses us.”

My understanding has come to the fact that Our Father in Heaven owes us nothing but willingly gives us everything if we come in humility and faith. For me Faith is my trust in my Heavenly Father’s intent to love and bless me. That causes me to want to be with Him. To not be separated from Him. Christ on the cross cried out “Father why have you forsaken me?” He was so used to the intimacy continually with him that the Father’s absence was probably a shock to Him. I believe that our faith grows equally with our revelation of the Fathers ‘Hesed’ loving-kindness nature - His kind intention towards us. Do we believe it?

So what if I sin? I come to Him in truthful repentance and “He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness.” He not only forgives and never begrudgingly but he cleans me up too. He does it willingly lovingly because He is passionate for me (and for you).

So how do you feel when you approach the throne of the father?

Really the Holy Spirit is the presence of the Father in us. When you think of the Father does it fill you with joy or with fear, dread, even resentment?

Our thinking - our thought life even if we are not aware of it directs our actions, and our experiences can direct our attitudes. A lot of what I’ve been taught in the church is not accurate or focuses on the negative aspects - what’s wrong and its wrong about us. ‘God loves you’ is often said but not always felt. What do we believe about how the father sees us. If we know that He values us, we will value ourselves and value others too. The joy of our salvation is that we can be free - free to worship in spirit and in the truth of who our Heavenly Father really is!

So how do we approach the Father?

Psalms 100:4 says “enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” A heart of thankfulness demonstrates our humility. The Father gives grace to the humble. Thankfulness is a key to the throne room and intimacy with our heavenly Father.

The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind, however, I believe that is not possible until we begin to have a revelation of the love of God, and that is not possible if we have held a distorted view of our heavenly Father’s heart towards us. He loves us as no earthly father could. Until we begin to see how He loves us we will either try to work for His approval or feel aloof and abandoned. But His love is perfect and never fails.

Prayer: Father God reveal your true nature to us and help us erase our preconceptions of who you truly are. We wish to be as intimate with you as you desire to be with us. We come before you with great thankfulness for your tender mercies and kindness that we even have the opportunity to know you. We owe everything to you and to your Son our lord and savior Jesus Christ. 

David Weber - is a mainstay in the Central Florida blueberry industry, with a Bachelor’s degree in botany from Florida Atlantic University and his Master’s from the University of Florida in Nematology. He worked exclusively in the Ag industry –managing the UF Extension Nematology Lab and later with Ciba Geigy Ag Chemicals– before starting his own company, The Doc Applications, Inc., in the 1980s. The acre he planted in the late ‘80s has grown to 31 acres, and he’s continued to strive for innovation. David is a long term member of Morningstar KBA - Kingdom Business Association. He believes strongly in Marketplace Ministry and is a two year participant of Morningstar’s prophetic ministry. He is an ordained minister with The Covenant Center.

Contact - info@thecovenantcenter.com