Abba

"Abba" by Chloe Pedersen is the sixth in a series of devotionals by the 2012 Grace Harbor Colombia Mission Team. I encourage you to remember Chloe in prayer as she serves on the mission field today.

"…and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:18

When I was little, I was daddy’s little girl. He use to dance with me standing on his feet, sing songs with me, twirl me, read bed time stories, kiss me goodnight and tell me that he loves me. Life was good, there were about two periods of time where he was not around everyday but I just figured he was at work. At the age of 8, I learned that he was not at work, he would leave and live with his parents because he drank. Now I knew he did drink and would ask why he acted funny sometimes but never knew the severity of the situation until I was about 8 years old and my parents separated for about 2 years. I hated those two years and was elated when he returned. We got back into our routine after a while and I got those goodnight kisses and "I love you" sayings back and was so happy. But when I was 11, he left for good and I have not seen him since. For seven years I have not been tucked into bed by him, have not been told I love you by him, have not been picked up or dropped off at school by him, and have not seen him. Most of all for the first 3-4 years I had no one to call "daddy" or so I thought.

During high school I learned a new name that God possessed. Not maker, judger, lover, faithful, father, restorer, messiah, above all, I am, or King. This name was one I have never heard Him being called by and was surprised when I learned it. I could not believe that people actually called God, the Creator of the universe, this name and that is Abba, or Daddy in Hebrew. I could not believe that I was allowed to call God, daddy and at first I did not like the idea at all, in fact I hated it and the thought of my calling Him daddy was so uncomfortable for me. I decided to research more into this subject and was amazed by what I found. The most amazing one that I found was the Lord’s Prayer. You know the one, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed it be thy name, thy kingdom come, Thy will be done…” When researching into this passage I found that the original translation says Abba, daddy. I was amazed; everything began to become more personal with God and my life made more sense. I mean, Jesus, himself, told us to call Him, Daddy. I was ecstatic, I finally had someone to call Daddy again and this time it was better, because this Daddy is perfect and would never leave me like the last one.

Now some of you may be like, who cares, we all have family issues, why should I care about yours? I don’t expect you to and I do not write this on here to get sympathy from anyone, I write it to tell you that you have a Daddy. You have one who is perfect and there for you 24/7, one who understands everything you are going through, one who loves you unconditionally, and one who forgives you upon request.

He is an amazing Daddy and I encourage you, the next time you are praying call Him Daddy, it may be uncomfortable at first, it was for me, but in the end it will bring ten time mores comfort and hope in your life. It will also allow you to be more personal with Him, it allows your mind to feel as though He is standing in front of you and you are talking to Him like you would any other person here on earth. You will have a more personal relationship with the One who saved you, which is His desire, just go read Matthew chapter 6, you will see, He wants you to be personable with Him, not religious. What better way to make a relationship more personable than using an intimate name like Daddy? It’s amazing; I dare you to try it.

Chloe Pedersen

Tweet