A Good, Good Father

“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” Psalm 103:13

Psalm 103 is a beautiful psalm praising God for who He is and what He has done. David, the writer of Psalm 103, begins and ends the psalm with these words: “Let all that I am praise the Lord.” With his entire being, all of his heart, all of his mind, all of his soul, and all of his strength, David lifts his praise to God. 

“The Lord is like a father to his children,” he writes. God is the best possible version of a father. He is everything a child could want his or her father to be. 

While our earthy fathers are an important source of our genetic makeup, God, our heavenly father, is the source of life itself. He formed us in our mother’s womb and knew everything about us before we were even born. He knows our fears and failures and he loves us despite our shortcomings.

Earthy fathers provide for their children, but even when they cannot provide, God is the ultimate source of our provision. Psalm 37:25 says, “I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.”

A good father loves his children enough to correct them when they go astray. Hebrews 12:6 tells us, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” Sometimes I need God to steer me back on the right path. The short-term pain of discipline will always result in my long-term gain.

A good father loves his children. The love of God exceeds even the greatest love of any earthy father. When I think about how great God’s love is, I am inclined, as David, to exclaim, “Let all that I am praise the Lord.” With my entire being, all of my heart, all of my mind, all of my soul, and all of my strength, I too will lift my praise to God. He is a good, good father to all of his children.