I Finally called God “Daddy”(2)
In case you missed it, here is part one of the story.
I am not a product of a broken home, but there were times that I wished I were, for my mother’s sake. For a long time, she was the unhappiest tormented soul I knew until she found her place in God.
In talking about the insidious attacks of the enemy against manhood, it might escape the attention of a few, but many families are breaking apart. I am not an expert in these matters and I don’t pretend to be. My aim here is to share my experience and the lessons I have learned.
A huge part of my growing years was spent watching my mother hold the home together, she stretched herself thin trying to make sure that her children had the semblance of a home and it was heart breaking to watch.
As the first child, I experienced upfront, the violence and abuse that went on her relationship with my father and it exposed me to the toxic narrative that has birthed the generation most men that we see in our current day:
These are men who feel entitled to the body and life of a woman.
Men who believe that a woman exists only to lose herself so that they find themselves
Men who believe that childbearing, child-rearing and home management are all women are good for.
Men who especially in our day, ironically, believe that the woman should do everything including work while they can take a self-proclaimed vacation because, you know, a woman is superwoman, she is meant to be stretched.
The toxic narrative has not left women unscathed.
It tells that them the success of a home depends on them and this narrative often draws its justification from scripture, the most commonly taken from Proverbs 14;1, “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.”
In reading the scripture, I often ask myself, why no one asks the question, “what is she building with?” Does she build with nothing in her hands? The very use of the word “build” there implies that there are materials that she is to work with. God was clear about the prototype of this relationship when he created Adam in a fully functional environment with resources and appointed him to work, then brought him a wife.
The danger of this narrative is that it frees the man of any responsibility in the home and places what is meant to be shared responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the woman. I am bold to say that this is an anomaly. And anyone who has stayed in the presence of God long enough to touch him will know this to be true.
There have been prophecies of a shaking that will start first from the house of God, his church. It has already begun, and many are walking through fire that will not burn them and are in waters that will not drown them. I sincerely believe that God is taking foundations and turning them upside down. All that you know will be tested and the ultimate goal is for his words revealed in us to remain for a foundation that is strong and unshaken.
Many relationships will be affected by this shaking, including marriages. Age-old narratives, that have become strongholds and have birthed anomalies in the family structures are being challenged. This is the age of God’s truth and it will prevail. The real question now is whether we will allow ourselves to be refined by the fire? Because allowing refinement will make the difference between the homes that make it and the ones that don’t. And this refinement covers both the man and the woman. Amos 3:3 asks, “Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”. The days where the woman walked with God and served as a covering for the man are over. That God permits a thing does not mean that it is his divine will. (Ephesians 5:22.33, 1st Corinthians 11: 3)
Phew! That was intense!
So, back to how I finally called God daddy.
During the period of the trial I was in, I prayed and asked God to lead me to gathering of his people where his word was being taught in power and simplicity.
God answered my prayers and led me to a church that has been unlike anything I have ever experienced. Celebration church turned out to be the best thing that happened to me this year.
Never have I been more eager to be in God’s presence than now.
Never have I had the desire to hear the Word being taught.
Attending the church made me understand that when people are taught about their identity in Christ and the inheritance we have in him, it can change lives. The gospel is indeed the power of God at work to save everyone who believes (Romans 1:16)
I remember attending the service one day and the person leading prayer was like,
“Go ahead and thank God, say thank you daddy.”
Everything in me went “scrreeeeech!!!!”
I was like, “Daddy ba wo?” Nah bruh!
I call him “father”, it’s very regal, very old English times and makes me feel like a little princess.
So, ignored him and the others after him who would pray and say “thank you Daddy. “
I could not just relate.
Fast-forward to last night.
I was listening to a message on YouTube by Pastor Iren called Jireh.
It’s funny because I had just put my son to sleep and laid down beside him with the message playing through my earphones, and I nodded off.
I woke up moments later to Pastor Iren saying, “God has justified you”.
That simple? Not quite.
I had also heard him say that mankind was corrupted in the garden of Eden by the decision of the first Adam and that the only way God would have corrected that was to destroy mankind, something he was not willing to do.
He made provision for our salvation through his Son, Jesus to correct the flaw in mankind and clean up the mess it had created for generations.
You see, I had always said and believed this, but I had never heard anyone preach it.
Hearing Pastor Iren say that made me realize that God has been teaching me his word in his way and it was not the product of my imagination.
I felt loved and honoured by God.
I felt loved and honoured by God
And in that moment, I said “thank you Daddy”, and I meant it.
Calling him daddy, felt very simple, very new ageish and made me feel like a little girl, period.
Do you see why I call him Daddy now?
