A Great Work

I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it? (Nehemiah 6:3)

You and I are called to a great and incredible work. The building of love of family and the raising of a child are incomparably exciting endeavors. Should God in His grace and providence allow you to father a child, rejoice! This is the opportunity of a lifetime. No matter what your past has looked like, your future, because of Christ, can be so bright.

I know many young men who are embarking on this great journey. Many of them love the Lord and have apprehension and a little bit of fear coursing through their veins. That healthy respect of the role they are stepping into is a good thing. God will use them. God can use you as well. You can do this. As Paul told Timothy, “The Lord stood by me and strengthened me,” and He will also strengthen you (2 Timothy 4:17).

A PRAYER

Father, thank You for Your great grace and mercy upon our lives. Thank You for Your wonderful love toward us and the beautiful opportunity to raise children for You. 

I pray, Father, that our children would grow up to be like arrows in the hands of a warrior, shot out into this world by You. 

Father, please equip and empower every man who reads this book. Strengthen us to be remarkable blessings to our wives, children, and world. Expand and grow Your kingdom and Your fame and Your glory, through our lives. 

In moments, Father, when we are in need of wisdom, particularly at crossroads in the lives of our children, times when we need divine guidance, please speak to our hearts. Show us the way in which we should go. 

Father, keep us from temptation and deliver us from evil. Defend these men from life-dominating sin and addictions or secret crimes of the flesh that would hinder their fatherly role. 

Watch over us. Deepen us. Strengthen us. Use these men for Your honor and glory. Use their children. 

Thank You, Father. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

(Dear New Dad, Ch 6: Man, pg 56-58)