The Dad’s Armor study puts forth this concept of reconciliation with your earthly father. For those of us who experienced challenging times in relationship with our dads from a young age, it seems easier to just close the door and press on with life as an overcomer of a bad home situation. The father wound can be deep and it is understandable that some men just do not want to go there.

At some point, the question becomes one of whether you want to press on in your own strength to try and be the dad your kids need or turn to the Heavenly Father for strength to become the father He calls you to be. In Exodus 20:4-6, God commands, “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in Heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” The impact a father has is indeed generational. Fathering in our own strength is idol worship and does not reflect the love of the Heavenly Father.

The commandment with a promise raises the bar another level - Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12. Failure to do what you can do to reconcile is not only dishonoring of your father, it can cheat your family of the generational healing and blessing God intends to be enjoyed.

Here are five components for consideration in reconciling relationship:

1. Have an honest exchange of thoughts and ideas about the relationship;
2. Engage real expression of feelings about the past;
3. Have a time of confession and restitution;
4. Have a time of forgiveness – severing the past from the current relationship;
5. Establish a commitment to a new relationship.

 (If the relationship with your dad is strong, utilize the five components to affirm him)

Prayer guide: Lord, You said through Malachi 4:6 – “He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers.” Let the heart-turning begin as men work through the Dad’s Armor study and be glorified as You bring healing across the generations. Amen.

A faithful father humbly honors his father through reconciliation.