I Am Your Father Now…

I absolutely HATED it when robbers tried breaking into our home! It happened way too often when I was a young girl living in Malawi, Africa. THANK GOD my dad was around to protect us! Dad would gear up, lock us in the house, and boldly step outside in the middle of the dark night to shoot at the men trying to break into our home. My mama, siblings and I would huddle up together, trembling in fear, listening to the loud gun shots and anticipating his safe return. “What if the robbers hurt him?” I would think to myself, clenching my teeth and my sweaty fists. Then finally, there would be silence, the gun shots would stop, and the biggest sense of relief would rest in our hearts when daddy walked through the door in one piece, successfully ridding our backyard of the all the scary, mean men.

Fellow Malawians called him “Rambo,” locally famous for killing man eating crocodiles in the Shire river. Don’t believe me? Here’s the proof…

The bottom line is, my dad was a bad a**, still is. I always felt protected when I was with him; it was like having my own bodyguard. I remember one day we were driving home and we stopped at a red traffic light. Unexpectedly, a man approached my dad’s window with a knife; I’ll never forget how fast that man ran when “Rambo” swiftly pulled out his pistol, it was quite amusing. I stuck my nose in the air and thought to myself, “you fool, didn’t see that coming did you?” Not many girls can say that they had a father like mine. I mean, even though we did not have the relationship I desired for us to have, I loved him, and I admired him.

I’m sure by now you’re all wondering where this is going, wondering what this blog is really about, right? And some of you probably thought I was making it all up until you saw the pictures, lol. Well, I wanted to set the scene, I wanted to explain what life was like living in a third world country, the dangers, the reality… I wanted to emphasis the importance of the role my earthly father played in protecting his family. I wanted to do this so that you would understand the significance, and the magnitude of the next part of this story…

The Divorce.

Yup, my daddy walked into the kitchen one night and told us he was leaving. He packed his bags that night and never came back. I must have been a junior in high-school when it happened, and I had recently begun my walk as a young believer several years prior to the divorce. I was heartbroken, and terribly confused; one of my greatness fears was actually coming to pass. I remember weeping and crying out to God that night, I remember asking Him, “Now that dad is gone, who’s going to protect us?” And as clear as day, I heard the voice of God say to me, “I AM YOUR FATHER NOW, I WILL PROTECT YOU.” In that moment, a supernatural peace whisked over my heart, drying my tears and comforting my soul… It was the moment my heart stood still. What just happened? Wait, I knew exactly what had happened – I had a revelation of God as my Father and as my Protector.

A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.

Psalm 68:5

Days went by, months went buy, years went by… and guess what? Not ONE. Single. Robbery! I could JUMP WITH JOY!! Being a single mom, my mother could not afford an alarm system like we could when dad was around, we could not afford an electric wire over our wall like the rest of our neighbors had and we could not afford a button you pressed to call the police. It has been well over twelve years since dad left and God has held fast to His Word. The neighbors on both sides of our home have been robbed on numerous occasions, one of them sexually assaulted by thieves, but not our home. I left home years ago and now live in the USA with my husband, but God continues to watch over my family and my home in Malawi, He has been so faithful.

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my Savior— from violent people You save me. “I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.”

2 Samuel 22:3-4

A Father to the Fatherless.

Maybe you never had a father, maybe you had a father but he was not present. Maybe your father was present, but he sexually, mentally or physically abused you. Maybe he was present but he left, or he didn’t meet most of your emotional, physical or psychological needs.. My father was great at protecting and providing for us, but he wasn’t perfect in other areas; I believe he did not know any better because he grew up without a father of his own. You see the pattern? Forgive your earthly father, he needs healing and he needs Jesus too. Your father may have raised you the wrong way, he may have done things that were not right, but God wants to raise you the right way; He wants to teach you things and show you what real love looks like.

God is a good and perfect father, not only is He the perfect father, but He is a Healer. He can heal your broken heart and bind up your wounds (Psalm 147:3). If your earthly father did not love you, GOD will love you. If your earthly father was not there to provide for you, GOD will provide for you. If your earthly father was not there to protect you, GOD will protect you. If your earthy father abandoned you, GOD will never abandon you! He is ALL that you need and more.

Don’t let the mistakes of your fathers distort who your Heavenly Father is. God is the perfect Father – Let Him in so He can heal you and show you what true love really looks like.

Kyla.B