God as a Good Father

I found myself hiding from God a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't going to him like I normally do. I didn't process my emotions with him or ask for his guidance. This left me feeling a bit lonely and isolated. In conjunction with the snowstorm, it left me in a weird place. I think this is a place that people get to occasionally and I wanted to share some reflections from processing through this.

There might be another reason for you, but I wad confusing God's character with some weird perception of Him. I was thinking that the only way that He would respond to me would be with harsh words and tell me that my thoughts were wrong and needed fixing. I didn't think that He would comfort me in my loneliness and isolation. But that is not his character. God is a good father, thinking about what a good father would do helps me break down some of these walls that I put up in my own heart. He reminded me that He wanted to comfort me, to wrap his arms around me, and just hold me. He reminded me that I am not too far away from him and that I am not too broken for him to use me. Our loneliness is not a reminder that we deserve that, but a chance to draw closer to God and let Him comfort us. And this is a lesson that I have had to learn over and over again. I talked about God's unfailing character last post, but it is something that I need to be reminded of. I get clouded by my own and others' sinfulness and unwisely project it on God. 

This photo is from our Pizza Theology on Entertainment!
The two below are also some small groups watching Pizza Theo!

We need reminders of who God is and how he works. That's why it is so essential for us to be in scripture and in community. We need to let the stories in the Bible shape us and become apart of us. We need people who remind us of who God is and what He is doing. This is a lot of what I do with the girls in my peer team and girls I meet up with. Funny enough, God often uses me ministering to others to minister to me as well. 

I wanted to share a passage from Mark 8-

"They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him."

Shayla and I's peer teams met up to read through a book called Loveology

Loveology talks about Love, Marriage and God.
It has been helpful for the girls to think through what the Bible says about these! 

The gospels show us Jesus's character. Take some time to reflect on this passage. What do we learn about Jesus here? Who do you see Jesus as? Do you see him as good father, the messiah, a friend or something else entirely? If you too have been hiding from God, why is that? 

I would love to hear about what God has been teaching you as well!!

I met with Keanna over zoom during the snowstorm!

Climbing with some friends

Feeding squirrels at TWU