“As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13 NKJV)
“The same way a loving father feels toward his children – that’s but a sample of your tender feelings toward us, your beloved children, who live in awe of you.” (Psalm 103:13 TPT)
“The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” (Psalm 103:13 NLT)
“Just as a father loves his children, so the LORD loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].” (Psalm 103:13 AMP)
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13 HCSB)
“And as a father shows compassion upon children, LORD JEHOVAH shows compassion upon his worshipers.” (Psalm 103:13 ABIPE)
Psalm 103 keeps drilling deeper and deeper into the loving nature of God. Daddy keeps bringing me back to verse 7, reminding me of just how critical it is that I interpret the actions that I attribute to Him through His nature and character. I need to constantly remind myself that He is Love, and He is Good. The voices of this world, and sadly many of the voices within religion, shout just the opposite. Verse 11 is one more reminder of my Daddy’s lovingkindness, mercy, grace, and goodness.
It is a mistake to think that during the Old Covenant the Father was an angry God who stopped being angry after Jesus appeased Him om the cross. He has always been a loving Father as David is describing Him in this Psalm. It is just that prior to Jesus coming very few had a revelation of Him as a Father. Jesus came to reveal Him clearly as the loving Father that He is. Sadly, even today there are many who have not yet received the revelation of His fatherhood.
We live in a culture in the midst of an epidemic of fatherlessness. Many families are living without a father anywhere in the picture. On top of that, in many of the families in which there is a father, he is basically absent as he chases everything except his family. Until we gain a clear revelation of God as our Father, this epidemic will continue to spread.
I am asking the Holy Spirit to reveal my Daddy to me clearly today as I think about…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 240 Kingdom Living (Psalm 103) Part 14 – Verse 13