In teaching the women at our Chosen Conference about who we are in Christ, I was miserable with the thought that I had a list to share – a dry, factual list. My heart’s desire was for us to meet with God over His life giving scripture, not pass the time until lunch. I needed our Heavenly Father to breathe on these truths, and my message was falling so short. Then, I thought of the words my dad wrote in a book he had given to me when I was 19. For the 1st time in over a decade I opened that book to stir my emotions and remember what it’s like to read that my dad saw me in a special light. When I cracked open that dusty spine out fell the following devotional. I don’t recall when I wrote it or why, but I do know it presented the perfect approach to God’s Word for us. What follows is how the Spirit opened the door to our receiving His Word and our identity in Christ at the Chosen Conference.
A plain book sits guarded on my bookshelf between my first Bible and a journal I started in the fifth grade. It is one of my most treasured possessions. Not for the romantic story that strummed my 19 year old heart once upon a time, but for the inscription my dad wrote to me on the title page. I can almost see how his hand must have looked as it rested on the textured paper; how it would have slightly jolted like an EKG as he penned the tall letters. I can imagine him pausing to conjure up just the right adjectives to express his heart for me. I wonder how he would have edited or elaborated his tender words if he had known that this love note would someday be a precious treasure to me, a blessing from a father to his eldest daughter. If Dad were living today, I think he would let out a big “Ha!” knowing that the hum of his expression still dances through my soul and is making its way into my faith community.
In my mind, this is evidence that our Heavenly Father’s hand never rests and is still inscribing His love even through a shelved dedication. His hand penned a father’s love letter on my dad’s heart, which filtered down to me. Wow, what a sweet God He is. What an unexpected duet between the past and our unlimited God!
I love that the Lord always has something from His heart to share with us, and it amazes me that His voice sounds the same so often regardless of the instrument He chooses to play. The lyrics may change but the melody is always the same. Just like my dad’s note, our Heavenly Father’s voice always resonates with profound love, giving life and blessing through words.
To think that our God, our Abba-Father, who waited for us to be born to this specific generation humbled Himself to the point of writing the purest love note ever written and with the precious blood of His Son, our Redeemer. He has chosen us all to receive this blessing! Precise words picked with purpose, written with emotion and transparency to you, His child. Based on the treasure hidden on my bookshelf, I know that the expression of a father’s devotion will stay with a woman throughout her life, but the expression of God’s devotion to that woman will change her life. Be blessed! Your Heavenly Father has composed an inscription just for you on more than a title page.
“…you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4 NLT)