(Matthew 7:11)
Let me tell you a true story I heard. There was a pastor whose young child was diagnosed with cancer. The day his boy was scheduled for an operation, this father cried out to God, "God, I'm almost 30 years old, but my boy is only about three months old. Why don't you just take some years off my life and give them to my boy?"
Then, from deep within him, he heard the voice of God say,"I am not like that." When the man heard that, he realized immediately that his son's sickness was not from God. He also realized that if he, who has faults, could want his child well, how much more his heavenly Father. So he changed his prayer and said, "Father God, I come against this sickness and I ask you for healing for my child." That day, on the operating table, the surgeons could find no trace of cancer in the child!
Today, God wants you to know that He is not the kind of Father who wants you sick and defeated, keeps you poor and wanting, refuses to provide for your needs and denies you your blessings.
When my daughter Jessica was younger, I bought a beautiful teddy bear for her. Teddy bears are her favorite toys and I could not wait to see her joy when she saw it. My joy is to see her happy. When she is sick and has difficulty sleeping at night, it hurts me to hear her cry. When she is crying, I cannot ignore her cries. I enter into her discomfort and pain even though I know that her sickness is something that will pass shortly. When she is in pain, I feel the pain too. When she is sad, I am sad too.
I believe that God gives us children to help us understand what His Father-heart is like. His joy is to enter into your joy and see you happy. If you, in spite of your faults, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to you when you ask Him! My prayer today is that you will know just how much your Father loves you!
God's joy is to enter into your joy!
A founding member of New Creation Church, Joseph initially served as an elder and associate pastor. However, his unanimous appointment as senior pastor in 1990 marked a turning point in the history of the church, which started experiencing phenomenal growth. Under Joseph's leadership, the church congregation has grown by more than a hundredfold—from about 150 to more than 31,000 attendees.
