Are you “doing dad”, to the best of your ability? Are you looking for the owner’s manual to help with raising children? Are you juggling all the kids’ activities with some degree of sanity? Are you wondering how two such different kids came from the same parents?
“What are you doing here?” may be “doing dad” in your own strength. Then there is the follow-up question, “What are you becoming here?” Dads are called to tune-in to the Heavenly Father through a relationship with Jesus the Christ, becoming faithful fathers by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and in the strength of the resurrected Christ.
Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” … So He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here Elijah?” – 1Kings 19:9, 11-13 (read chapters 18-19 for context). Elijah was fresh off a tremendous victory in front of King Ahab. He confronted 450 prophets of Baal and in the power of the One true God, he proved their god a false god and them as false prophets. In the strength of the Lord, he killed all 450 prophets by the sword. Then in his strength, he ran from a decree issued by Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, that called for him to be killed. Fear for his life distracted him from the fear of the Lord that had undergirded his life as a prophet. In this passage, our Lord God uses wind, an earthquake and fire as analogies of noise in this world that can distract from the “sound of a gentle whisper.” Many dads are doing their best to be a good dad but are caught up trying to navigate through a lot of worldly noise in their own strength to make it through another day. The charge is to become a faithful father in the strength of our Lord and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Tips for knowing What You are Doing Here:
- Read Scripture and pray daily – start with the book of Romans and read through Jude; then read the gospels and Acts; then read Genesis through Revelation;
- Prioritize physical presence with the aid of a family calendar app;
- Engage emotionally through regular one-on-one time with each child;
- Lead spiritually by example by living into a biblical worldview;
- Reference the handbook for dads – Seasons of Fathering.
Prayer guide: Father, thank You for Your word and the example of Elijah. I confess I allowed the wind, earthquakes and fires in my life to completely distract me from the gentle whisper of Your voice. Forgive me. I commit to tune-in to You by reading Scripture daily. Grant me discipline to read at least a chapter a day and pray for clarity on what I am doing here. Help me emulate you as my Heavenly Father by prioritizing physical presence, engaging emotionally and leading spiritually by example. That is the dad You call me to be and that’s the dad my kids need to see. Amen.
A faithful father tunes-in to His voice and knows what he is doing here.
