Situation Vacant: Fathers Needed
After finishing with 3 days of fruitful ministry in a certain city, I found myself waiting for the car to arrive to pick me up so that I could head back home to Mumbai. While I was still waiting, I was speaking with a bunch of young boys and was thanking them for their tireless efforts towards a successful meeting. Few of them were members of the worship team, some ushers, a translator, some members of a skit troupe and a few delegates from the meeting.
As I prayed with them and said our goodbyes, one of them came to me, quite hesitantly and almost unwillingly said, “Brother, I have something to say to you”. And went ahead to give me a word of encouragement through a word of knowledge. It was specific to my situation and I was blessed that he did come and speak with me. I then asked him why was he hesitant to tell me at first. He related that he was not sure if it was right for him to tell me and also he wasn’t so sure if it was just his mind making things up.
As much as I was happy to receive the word, I was grieved to see a young leader unaware of a gift of the Holy Spirit operating in his life. As I continued to talk with him, I explained to him that it was the voice of the Holy Spirit revealing to him things about people. As he began to understand this truth, I saw his face radiant with joy. In the course of our conversation I had learned that this young leader was taking care of over 35 families of his church and God had used him to bring them to the Lord. I prayed with him once again. He had a lot of questions which I said we would discuss in detail once we meet again in Mumbai.
After this enlightening conversation, as I was travelling back, I realised that the one thing missing is this young leader’s life was a voice speaking into his life, guiding him, correcting him, encouraging him, helping him to refine his gifts and telling him that it was okay to make mistakes. What was missing in his life was a ‘Father’.
I am not discounting the fact that the voice of Father God is more than enough for us but God Himself through the scripture ordained spiritual fathers in the lives of many young people who went forward to become mighty men of God. Isaac needed Abraham to tell him that God was going to provide the lamb for the sacrifice. A cry went up to God from Isaac so that a Jacob would be born and go ahead to become Israel. Joseph needed Israel to give him that coat of many colours that would play part in Joseph reaching his destiny. Samuel needed Eli to tell him that the voice he heard was indeed the voice of God. Joshua needed a Moses. Elisha needed an Elijah. Ruth needed a Naomi. Esther needed a Mordecai. Timothy needed a Paul. The Bible is full of examples where fathers have made a difference in the lives of their sons and daughters.
Where are the Fathers?
There is a generation that is confused, scared and directionless because of the lack of fathers. And I am not talking about a biological parent here but a spiritual father; someone who would nurture them daily in their walk with the Lord as they move towards their destiny. There are a lot of pastors, prophets and evangelists but if we have to see the next generation grow to be what God wants them to be, they need fathers.
As you are reading this, if your heart is stirred inside of you to change what the next generation looks like, I encourage you to pray and ask God to reveal how you can make a difference in somebody’s life. I once read somewhere that a child makes a mother and I know it stands true for a father as well. Allow God to mature you as you lead somebody else in their walk with God. Invest. Be a father.