Don’t just plow ahead. A quick thank you will just not do. District Apostle Wolfgang Nadolny (Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany) advises us to carefully think about how we can praise God.
“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight’” (Luke 10: 21).
The Son of God had commissioned His disciples to go and teach the gospel to the people. When they came back they were full of enthusiasm, but the Lord was matter-of-fact. That the spirits submitted to them in His name was a reality, but it was no reason for exuberant joy. The fact that our names are written in heaven is a true motive for joy. It is for this reason that we can call God our Father.
God the Father reveals Himself in the visible and invisible creation. With never-ending love God seeks to win the souls of man in order to offer them eternal life. For those whom God has chosen and who accept His election He is a loving Father.
The simple address “Father” already confirms the profound truth of how much we depend on God. We need …
- God’s love and care. Since the creation of man, God has cared for humankind. He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good (Matthew 5: 45). As a loving and caring Father He watches over the spiritual well-being of His children. He sent His Son to earth, who sacrificed His life for the sins of man. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is yet another expression of God’s love and care.
- God’s patient endurance. Apostle Peter emphasizes the patient endurance of God in an impressive way: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise … but is longsuffering toward us” (2 Peter 3: 9). The Father constantly invites us to come to Him. How many times have we not come laden with the same debt?!
- God’s love. God is love! This experience by Apostle John is something that we have also made over the course of our lives and our being children of God. It feels so good to be sustained and carried by the love of God in good and bad days, and we draw strength and confidence from this.
- God’s guidance. How could we ever find the way to God if He were not to lead us? It is our firm belief that the Holy Spirit leads into all truth.
Those who presume they are wise and learned think that they do not need God. Babes and minors, on the other hand, are aware that they are dependent on those who care for them. Let us be like babes who know they need God’s care, who are thankful for God’s patient endurance, who take refuge in His love, and who allow themselves to be led by His strong hand. Fortified with this knowledge we praise and thank God, and give God the glory.