Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s finish hearing from the LORD about His followers’ discord, by remembering that we are our Heavenly Father’s children.

Today’s scripture, Romans 8:15-16 (NLT) reminds us…
[15] So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” [16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Consider…
One of the go to lines that children use when dealing with conflict is, “I’m going to tell my daddy (or mommy)”. There’s something precious about the confidence children have that the person who cares about them is capable of taking care of any situation.

That’s how our Heavenly Father wants us to deal with conflicts too.

Deuteronomy 3:22 (NLT)
shares God’s reassurance to the children of Israel…
[22] Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.’

And Deuteronomy 20:4 (NLT) reaffirmed…
[4] For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

Perhaps my favorite assurance from God is Exodus 14:14 (NLT)…
[14] The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

The same Jehovah-Nissi that guaranteed and delivered victory to the children of Israel is our Heavenly Father too.

Thus we can sing with sister Yolanda Adams…

There is no pain Jesus can’t feel
No hurt He cannot heal
All things work according to His perfect will
No matter what you’re going through
Remember God is using You
For the battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s

There’s no sadness Jesus can’t feel
And there is no sorrow that He cannot heal
For all things work according to the Master’s holy will
No matter what you’re going through
Remember that God is only using you
For this battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s

It’s the Lord’s, yes, it’s the Lord’s
Hold your head up high
Don’t your fret, it’s the Lord’s
It’s the Lord’s, yes, it’s the Lord’s

No matter what you’re going through
Remember that God only wants to use you
No matter what you happen to go through right now
Remember that in the midst of it all
God only wants to use you

Like confident little children, when conflicts arise in our lives, our Heavenly Father wants us to declare, “I’m going to tell my daddy”. He wants us to sing with Michael Smith…

… This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles (ohh)

… It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You
It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You, hey!
It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You
It may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by You

It’s because of this confidence that our brother Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:17-21 (NLT) to…
[17] Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. [18] Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. [19] Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD. [20] Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” [21] Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

The Holy Spirit is telling us to stop fighting for God and start letting Him fight our battles instead.

So today I encourage you to resist the urge to retaliate.

Instead remember that regardless what your going through, 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT), promises…
[13] The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

No matter what, always remember your Heavenly Father has got you. That’s why Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) to…
[7] Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Because Jesus knew how much our Heavenly Father cares, He exhorted in Matthew 6:31-33 (NLT)…
[31] “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ [32] These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. [33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing that rather than telling others what they need to do for you, seek God’s Kingdom and live right in His sight and trust Him to supply your needs.

Beyond fighting our battles and supplying our needs, the Holy Spirit wants to know most of all that our Heavenly Father loves us.

1 John 3:1 (NLT)
explains…
[1] See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

This again reminds me of the little child who confidently threatens to tell their daddy to take care of their issue. It reminds me of that child, because sometimes they make that declaration to others who don’t know who their daddy is. The Holy Spirit is saying don’t be surprised or worried about others not recognizing who we belong to.

God doesn’t want to be a weapon that we threaten others with, instead He wants to be the loving Heavenly Father we recognize and trust.

Indeed, our Heavenly Father wants us to remember that the most important thing according to Ephesians 1:5-8 (NLT) is…
[5] God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. [6] So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. [7] He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. [8] He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

The Holy Spirit is saying that more than anything else, the LORD wants us to remember that we are our Heavenly Father’s children. And as Chris Tomlin sings to Him…

You’re a good, good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

Brother Tomlin continues…

Oh, it’s love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still into love, love, love

You see our Heavenly Father wants us to live in peace knowing that He loves us. In fact He loved us so much that He sent our big brother to hang with us, and handle everything for us.

Which is why we can also sing with Elevation Worship…

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine
He’s been my fourth man in the fire, time after time
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
And what He did for me on Calvary is more than enough

I trust in God, my Savior
The one who will never fail
He will never fail
I trust in God, my Savior
The one who will never fail
He will never fail

This makes me think, whether we need our Heavenly Father or Big Brother Jesus doesn’t really matter, because both are God and He will never fail.

So today stop worrying about others here on earth and start trusting in, and focusing on your Heavenly Father. If you do, Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) testifies to Him…
[3] You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!

Always remember, there’s nothing to worry about, because you are your Heavenly Father’s child! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Bonus share: During her edit, my wife recalled a time when a teacher cursed at her, and in her head she thought, “I’m going to tell my momma”. I believe that’s the response God wants us to have with others, think about telling our daddy.

Today’s song is…
We Are Our Heavenly Father’s Children

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)