The Father’s Heart

CHAPTER 1
Closer Than You Think
Jeremiah 31:1-2 (ESV) “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness — Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
My children have discovered a trick. When they were younger, if they were asleep as the van arrived home, I would carry them into the house. Now as they have gotten wiser, they will sometimes pretend to be asleep hoping for the same treatment.
Pulling into our driveway after small group one night, I noticed my son was indeed pretending to be asleep. He was trying his luck as it were. Everyone exited the vehicle. I circled around to his side of the van and watched to see what he would do if he thought everyone left and he didn’t get his free ride. I stood just outside the van window as he continued his sleeping act. Finally, he opened an eye to quickly glance toward the driver’s seat. When he saw I wasn’t there, he assumed I had gone into the house and left him to fend for himself. Little did he know, I was actually closer to him than if I had been in the driver’s seat.
He lifted his little fist and gently hit the armrest on his seat in disappointment. His dream of being held by his father and lifted to his destination appeared hopeless to him now. Just then, he glanced enough to his right to catch a glimpse of me. He immediately jerked his head
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Caleb Plumb
back to a sleeping position and closed his eyes. His dream was back. His hopes renewed. His father had been closer than he thought.
If there is one message I feel the Lord wants me to tell the church in this hour, it is this: “the Father is closer than you think.” He is more powerful than you have imagined. He is absolutely more generous than you could possibly have estimated. Jeremiah prophesied in chapter 31 that the Father desires to bring all His children under His care. He desires to protect us, love us and give us His name. He allowed the sword to come to Israel to purify them. He has allowed the sword of truth – the word of God – to purify us. Some have survived, yielding in obedience to the Father’s instructions. Some have continued to rebel.
Jesus says something similar in John 14:23 (NIV): “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” If we don’t see the Father where we think He should be, we can pound our fist and say He doesn’t love us or say He’s not the God we really want. If we hold on a bit and widen our gaze, He’ll prove He’s closer than we ever thought.
The Father comes close to encourage as He corrects. His correction is not harsh condemnation but is sheer love. For those who have not known the loving correction of an earthly father, it takes a while to adjust to our heavenly Father’s wisdom. His encouragement on the other side of correction helps us to see His correction is indeed in love.
I recently preached the “I AM” statements from the Gospel of John. I was familiar with most of them and felt for the most part that my study was a refresher course. But one of the “I AM” statements surprised me. It gave me new insight into Jesus and the Father’s work through the Holy Spirit to grow us up as His faithful boys and girls.
In John 10:7 (NIV) Jesus says, “I am the door of the sheep.” As I studied, I discovered the word “door” portrays a powerful image that is crucial to understanding this verse. In Jesus’ day, the sheep pen would not have a literal door of wood or other material. Instead, the shepherd himself would sleep in the doorway as a barrier for any evil that might attack at night.
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The Father’s Heart
I love this picture of Jesus. I have experienced this in my life as He has kept me from evil. But further study led to the discovery that ancient shepherds would also stand in the narrow doorway of the sheep pen, usually constructed of a low stone wall, and examine each sheep as it passed by. The shepherd would look for thorns, cuts or diseases that might be harming the sheep. He discovered problems the sheep had either never noticed or had just accepted. The shepherd would then tenderly go about healing the sheep.
What an image of God’s grace and mercy. How often has the Father removed thorns of sin and pain from our lives that we either did not notice or for which we did not understand the long-term effects? Many times, I have felt deeply convicted about something that seemed so trivial. But like a good shepherd, the Lord knows sin is an infection that can lead to serious consequences if not dealt with quickly.
A few weeks after discovering this new insight, I was in prayer early one morning. I saw a picture of a shepherd pulling a thorn out of a sheep’s leg. The image came from nowhere and interrupted my thoughts. I knew it was from the Lord, so I began to seek Him to discover what the thorn might symbolize.
In a short while, bitterness began to surface and memories of a painful conversation from a few months back came to light. I thought I had forgiven the person for the attack. I thought I was no longer keeping the grudge, but the Lord knew a thorn had imbedded itself in my heart. It reminds me of when I’m taking out a splinter. Sometimes I think I get it all but later discover a bit more deeper down in the skin.
The healing in this prayer time was so gentle. The Lord reminded me I had avoided this person since the event. I had tried very hard to be a mature Christian and not speak ill of him, but my love had grown cold. I felt the Lord tell me to invite this person out for dinner. From the moment I made the invitation, I felt something leave me. I was free. The Shepherd had pulled out the thorn. He saw the thorn I could not even feel. Jesus truly is the gate. But as we consider how close and intimate He really is, we must look beyond His loving corrections to see the ultimate goal – His empowering encouragement.
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Caleb Plumb
The Father points out our sin and helps us so we can live in the fullness for which He made us. Later in John 10:10 (NIV) we see the familiar verse, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The Father is standing right beside us, even if we cannot see Him. Your hopes and dreams of being carried in His intimate embrace are still there for you.
Father’s Heart Takeaways:
1) The Father is closer than it often feels He is. If we can stay in faith a bit longer, He will appear.
2) The images we see and the words we hear when we pray can be communication from our Father revealing Himself.
3) The Father can see the thorns that are hurting us before we even feel them.