Daily Devotional

When the Bible uses words like, "Our, my, we, us, brothers, sisters" and so on, we begin to understand that our walk with God begins with a relationship. I love what Paul writes here, "my" God. "My" refers to ownership — when something or someone belongs or is betrothed to you. Just as much as we belong to the LORD, the LORD belongs to us — He wants to walk by your side day in and day out.

The Lords Prayer has a good foundation of the relationship we have with God — He is our Father. Not only is God my God but He is my Father too. Its a personal relationship; much more personal than we think. He wants to be there to help fix the wound when we get hurt. He wants to be there when you take your first steps, when you get your promotion, when you end up in trouble — He wants to be there with you when you go through everything.

In John 15, Jesus took the relationship one further when He said, "I call you not servants, but I called you friends." The Bible says that this "friend" sticketh closer than a brother. What does this mean?

Well, in life, we cannot always run to daddy and tell him everything. So we have friends — friends who share the very intricate parts of our lives — my first date, my first puff of a cigarette, my breakups, my heartaches, and even my joys. So God said, "Well, if you do not want to see me as a Father right now, then look to me as a Friend. Come to me, and tell Me why you're crying or why you're rejoicing. But please, just come to Me."

This is amazing. I can go to God and tell Him everything; and He knows the role He needs to play — He is either going to be my Father and chastise me in love; or He is going to be my Friend and lend me a shoulder to cry on. And yes, through all of this, He is still our LORD, our God, our Ruler and our Saviour.