Day 12 Abba, The Ultimate Father

Let Abba, Papa-God Love You

We’ve looked at the role and importance of the Father covenant in both personal and spiritual development, but….Abba God tells us that the Creator of the Universe is also our papa or daddy.

What if your Father Covenant was broken?

This is a tender subject.  There are many ways fathers can break covenant with their children:

• Abandonment – running away from a marriage, responsibility or fear of parenthood
• Abuse – taking your pain out on your children through emotional, physical or sexual abuse
• Neglect – not taking your job as a father seriously to provide identity, give authority and provide protection, provision and possessions for your child
• Career – turning your children over to others to raise while you pursue fulfillment or material benefit through a career
• Breaking Covenant with the mother – by tearing her down and not loving her
• Divorce & Remarriage – not knowing how to manage a wife and children in a blended family
• Agreeing to or even Forcing Abortion – ending your child’s life out of fear or selfishness

What Do You Do If You Have Broken the Father Covenant With Your Children?

First of all, take no condemnation from learning about this important Covenant.  While breaking the Father covenant caused hurt to you, your children and your family; when we repent God covers ANY sin with the Blood of Jesus to be remembered no more.  We can also ask Him to cover it in the hearts, minds and lives of our children.  He is able and willing to restore…our job is just to repent.

The book of Jeremiah is completely about Israel and Judah breaking Covenant with God. In Jeremiah 3: 8-25 God calls Israel, who had completely forsaken their covenant with God, to repent and with repentance He promises “then I will give you shepherds (leaders) after my own heart who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”

Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for your sin so you don’t have to pay. Your job is to accept responsibility for your sin and accept Jesus Christ’s sacrifice as full payment for your sin. Your job is to Forgive yourself, Forgive others involved.  Release others from owing you anything and turn it over to Jesus Christ, your Covenant partner.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I’ve broken covenant with my children (names).  Please forgive me and cover that sin with Jesus’ blood to be removed from my life and my family.  I commit this broken covenant to you, Jesus, my covenant partner.  As my Covenant partner I ask you to provide, protect and give new identity to my children.  Bring them to your table to experience your richness and covenant with you.  I receive your forgiveness and I choose to forgive myself and I choose to forgive those who have hurt me.  Show me how to walk fully in Covenant with you.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Looking for a “Covenant Father”

Many times I’ve sat with women who wept as they talked of being abandoned or abused or neglected by their father and were looking for that person to “exchange” covenant with. These precious women, in their youth, gave themselves freely to men (or other women) who were abusive, neglectful and eventually abandoned them.

It is common for someone with a broken covenant relationship, whether with parents or spouse, to long for a true covenant. They freely give who they are, their identity, authority, possessions, provision and protection, to the other person but the full exchange never happens. They once again experience a “broken covenant”.

Sometimes children who do not have a Covenant relationship with their father will remain in covenant with their mother. This is not God’s plan; you are to honor your mother (and your father) that your days may be long on the earth (Exodus 20:12); but you are not to stay in covenant with her.

The covenant relationship between parent and child is transitional; from mother, to father, to God and spouse and then to next generation children. The only covenants that are not to be broken are between God and Husband and Wife.

Matthew 19:5 “for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

A person who does not ” “leave” (in the sense of covenant exchange), their father and mother will never fully be in covenant with God or their spouse.

Likewise, a parent who does not allow the child to “leave covenant” with them is keeping the child from a true covenant relationship with both God and spouse.

Eventually, when a person finds themselves in wrong covenant relationships with people or is unable to break covenant with a parent the only one solution for survival appears to be – go into covenant with myself.

What Does Being In Covenant With Yourself Look Like?

As mentioned in the Mother Covenant, the Covenant can be broken at any of the stages of Covenant, with mother, father, friend, marriage or children. This concept must be fully understood in order to not repeat it again.

We can go into what we “think” is a “God Covenant” with another person, a religion, a church or an organization. Ultimately, if and when these human Covenants fail us we will decide, like my young friend “I can’t trust anyone to take care of me…I must take care of myself”.

On the outside those words seem wise…after all, we are to be personally responsible for our own well-being, right? The problem happens when we decide to become fully INDEPENDANT of God and everyone. We try to furnish our own Identity. We become our own Authority. We are solely responsible for our own Provision, Protection and Possessions. We are in Covenant with ourselves. What is the problem?

Remember, Covenant is About Exchange and Interdependence

• Covenant, the kind God created us to desire, is about exchange.
• We exchange our strengths and weaknesses for our Covenant partners’ strength.
• We exchange being our own authority and invite other’s wisdom into our lives.
• We work together with our Covenant partners for mutual benefit of provision, protection and sharing possessions.

When you are in Covenant with yourself you are indeed impoverished, regardless of how much earthly wealth you accumulate. Why? You have no one to exchange with but yourself. You are completely and utterly self-reliant. While this may look “strong and stable” on the outside, it ultimately produces nothing but driven fear…for if you stop providing all these elements of Covenant for yourself for even one moment of rest, you are in grave danger.

Does this resonate with you?

• Have you experienced a broken covenant with your mother, your father, a friend, a church or a marriage?
• Have you broken one of these covenants?

There is hope and there is a way to learn to Trust God and learn how to have proper covenant relationships.

You are safe in Covenant with Abba, Father

The Bible reveals many names for God that describe his character. In the mother covenant we learned of El Shaddai, the all-sufficient one, the nursing mother.

Abba is a very intimate name for our Father God; a picture of a loving and tender father…”papa or daddy” would be a modern translation.

Often when our Father covenant is broken we find it hard to trust anyone out of fear of being hurt again or possibly abused or abandoned.

Romans 8:15 tells us how much we can trust Father God

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

The Greek word for Abba means “daddy or papa”.   God is not only the creator and the judge, he is your loving papa there to give you the identity of a much loved child.

Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Imagine, God, the creator of the Universe, your Abba, papa, rejoicing and singing over you because you are so loved.

Your Covenant God is there for you, even if everyone else, including the church or Christians have broken covenant with you. Even if your parents or your spouse broke covenant – God has not.

Your responsibility is to forgive the broken Covenant and turn it over to your Covenant Partner, Jesus Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father,

My (mother, father, spouse, friend, child, church, employer) has broken Covenant with me.  It hurts and I am now afraid to trust anyone.  I realize I have been in Covenant with myself and now I am impoverished of body, soul and spirit.

I receive the identity of a much loved child of God, a Covenant Partner with Jesus Christ.

I give you authority in my life, you guide my steps, my thoughts and my heart.

I give up striving to provide for myself, protect myself and give myself possessions.

I choose to forgive that person or persons who broke Covenant with me.  I release them from owing me anything and I receive full restitution from you for any losses this broken Covenant has caused me.

You are my Covenant partner.  I choose to honor you.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Covenant is the Mindset of Honor.

Tomorrow we will look at the what it means to be In Covenant with God, El Elyon, the creator of the Universe, our El Shaddai, our Abba, papa.

About the Author: Celeste Davis, is a passionate follower of Jesus Christ with a heart to walk fully in Covenant with Him. As Founder of The Wellness Workshop, Celeste’s heart is to teach women and impact their families to “Be Nourished” as opposed to dieting or trying different life strategies. We nourish our bodies with God-Made Food, our Souls with God-Made Relationships and our Spirits with the Word of God and Prayer. More Info about Celeste

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