The Daddy-Daughter Moment
By Lexi Cole
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Romans 8: 14-15 (NLT)
I have come to an important conclusion…I need to invest in waterproof makeup. After recently watching Father of the Bride, I’ve realized that I’m a goner when it comes to the father walking his daughter down the aisle. I just love that moment: Dad with his little girl as she begins this next chapter of her life. So if I sobbed through that comedy, my own actual wedding might have some major waterworks on my part!
The truth is, I love being a daddy’s girl. I could talk a lot about how great my dad is, but I’ve got a limiting “word count” for this devotional! This summer, my dad will be walking me down the aisle. We’ll have our “daddy-daughter moment.” All of this has made me really appreciate the similarities between my dad and our Heavenly Father.
In Romans, Paul uses the word “Abba.” This word goes beyond title to convey a deep relationship; often it’s translated as our English word “daddy” or “papa,” since it references more than just a biological male parent. In the same way my dad and I are close, our Heavenly Father desires that closeness with us. He provided a path - - at extreme cost to Himself - - to restore and reconcile that oneness with us. He lives in us through His Spirit to guide us after we put our dependence in Him. We serve a God who is personal enough to be our father-figure…not just in a distant fatherly role, but as our daddy. My sisters: We are His girls!! He is the Master of our lives and our Papa. As the verse above reminds us, we are NOT fearful slaves. We serve a big God, a powerful Master…but He’s one who wants those daddy-daughter moments.
Before our day gets busy, have we had our daddy-daughter moment? Have we read His Word, been still to hear His voice, prayed to Him, and been willing to allow His Spirit to lead us? Realizing I’ll need some hefty-duty waterproof mascara pretty soon makes me so thankful that my relationship with my earthly daddy has reminded me that I need to have the same relationship with my Abba Daddy. Because through the busyness of life, we all need some daddy-daughter moments.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What do you need to do right now so that you can have a daddy-daughter moment today…and everyday?
2. Whom can you encourage to do the same?
FURTHER READING:
2 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 4:6
Lexi is finishing her last year at Bethel University as an Elementary Education major and having fun planning her wedding with her fiancé, Andrew. She serves with Children’s Ministries at Oakwood.
