“I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.”
1 John 2:13 NKJV
I have been pondering the gift of righteous fathers. Since I have been talking about Mary the last two weeks, I wanted to end this year with the story of Joseph.
“This was how Jesus, God’s Anointed One, was born. His mother, Mary, had promised Joseph to be his wife, but while she was still a virgin she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Her fiancé, Joseph, was a righteous man full of integrity and he didn’t want to disgrace her, but when he learned of her pregnancy he secretly planned to break the engagement. While he was still debating with himself about what to do, he fell asleep and had a supernatural dream. An angel from the Lord appeared to him in clear light and said, ‘Joseph, descendant of David, don’t hesitate to take Mary into your home as your wife, because the power of the Holy Spirit has conceived a child in her womb. She will give birth to a son and you are to name him “Savior,” for he is destined to give his life to save his people from their sins.’ This happened so that what the Lord spoke through his prophet would come true: Listen! A virgin will be pregnant, she will give birth to a Son, and he will be known as “Emmanuel,’ which means in Hebrew, ‘God became one of us.’ When Joseph awoke from his dream, he did all that the angel of the Lord instructed him to do.”
Matthew 1:18-24 TPT
Can you imagine? Joseph was engaged to Mary. Everything was coming together for him. And, as fate would have it, she gets pregnant by a spirit—the Holy Spirit no less. Now, that’s a reach of an excuse for any man to accept. Yet, the truth came to visit him in a dream, and Joseph believed and honored the position he was given. He would be the father to a Son sent to save his people from their sins. Any first-time father is already nervous, and now he is going to be the father of the Savior. What a day!
We don’t know much about Joseph from the notes in the Bible, but we do know he was a stonemason and his sons came along with him to learn the trade as part of their growth to manhood. Jesus was people watching for 30 years, and in three short years, He fulfilled his destiny. That is hard for us to accept sometimes, that it’s not always about how long you last, but how effective you were in the clutch. He knew the season He was in and He embraced each day as it came. Jesus seems like a chill guy—eating, healing, sitting under teachings, hanging with his crew. But, there are many passages that mentions Jesus going away to pray.
“After the crowds dispersed, Jesus went up into the hills to pray. And as night fell he was there praying alone with God.”
Matthew 14:23 TPT
There is something special about being a witness to praying fathers. I saw my father start the day reading his bible and ending his day reading and praying. This was a constant for me. This was a safety for me. He may not have made the Bible sound interesting growing up, but he stayed faithful. My siblings and I are all active with our faith today.
When my husband passed, it was tough to see the grief in my father’s and father-in-law’s eyes. The sadness was something I hadn’t seen before. Yet, the Spirit came upon me in such a way I had never experienced that I didn’t need their strength to sustain me. In fact, they came over to see me, to glean from my empowering strength in the moments of heightened faith. It awakened me and I have been seeking more of the Spirit ever since. Once you have a taste of the promised land, you will want more of the fruit in that land. This might seem odd for a widow to say, but it’s my testimony. In my lowest moment, I felt the most alive in the Spirit like never before.
So, fathers, thank you for staying faithful, staying prayerful, staying consistent, staying humble. This is my story of the men closest to me and their character and patterns. My father wanted to leave an inheritance to us, and so for him it meant investing in land. I just found out this week he paid off that investment. It has taken him 41 years to do so. This is a testimony of his faithfulness. This is a testimony of inheritance. I hope this encourages you that little by little, you can accomplish a lot. Every day you do your best and allow God to handle the rest.
Thank you for allowing me to write over this past year. I hope you have enjoyed hearing a little from my heart each Monday. I will be keeping this up to continue working the muscle of creative writing.
As for me and my family, Covid-19 came this Christmas and hasn’t left. So, we are enjoying the time of rest even if our bodies don’t feel the best. I didn’t see this one coming, but 2020 continues to surprise us with curveballs even at the end. So, please say a prayer that we recover well.
Until next time, continue to show love to your neighbors. You might be the only Jesus they ever get to know. Stay friendly. Stay cheery. Show them the Jesus in you. Amen.
P.S. See you in 2021! It’s all about fun, which is my word for next year.
I can’t end this year without a song. This one has some punch. My word for this year was breakthrough. This is my response to 2020 and my language breaking into 2021.
Capital Kings, FIREBLAZIN:
My favorite line is, “Just like a beating drum, You are alive in us.”
#TributeToFathers #MyMendedHeart #Inthesendingcomesthemending