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Reading: Psalm 10:12-18
Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account?”
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
The LORD is King forever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror (NIV).*
Laurel Lake, Algonquin Park, Ontario — photo by L Kranz
Reflection
From the beginning, it has always been so. At the start of life there is a father. Without a father there is no life. Ponder those words for a moment.
Of course those words are true of a mother as well. But today’s psalm focusses on fathers. To be more accurate, the psalmist calls attention to the fatherless. Apparently, fathers aren’t just needed at conception; they are needed throughout life.
There are voices in our society that question the need for fathers. Life can go on without them. In some cases, life is better without them. But I would argue that that’s not life as life should be—as life was designed to be from the beginning. Our prisons are filled with fatherless men. A huge chunk of the misery, distress and degradation in this world is caused by the absence of fathers—men who fail to assume their role as fathers.
A good father—an active, involved father—makes a world of difference in the life of a child. As a public school teacher I saw the truth of this every day. The well-fathered child of either gender has advantages beyond compare on every social, economic and intellectual scale. We need fathers. I need a father—a perfect Father.
That’s why we can draw comfort and encouragement from this psalm. Twice the LORD promises to be a helper and defender of the fatherless. Jesus came to introduce us to our Father—a Father who cares.
Response: LORD God, father me. Thank you for caring. Help me become the father I need to be. Amen.
Your Turn: Has your father made a difference in your life for good or bad? Are you letting God be your Fathered today?
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I love the Psalms 
How profound: “there is no life without a Father!” Without our Father God we are nothing and would certainly be lost without His love. Having had a bad father as a child, I have grown up putting a lot into my own role as a father and grandfather. My role as a father/grandfather is a God given responsibility which I love, because He loves me.
I had a good father who taught me to persevere no matter how rough the road. He didn’t teach me a lot about love but I have a Father now that has and is teaching me about His love for me and how I should share that love with others. Our Hope is built on nothing less than HIs love for us.
This is so true, David. I grew up in a Christian home. My dad was a hard working man and wanted the best for his family, because he grew up taking his father’s place as the man of the house. He didn’t want that same outcome for his children. In the process, he felt cheated by life. He was an unhappy man. He was an angry father. He never abused us physically, but his words were sharper than a two edged sword. I associated God, the Father with my dad. I couldn’t see beyond his shortcomings and blamed my heavenly Father for them. If He was such a good Father, I didn’t have an example in my own father of what he should be. It took me years to realize that God is so different than us. His love is unconditional, not self serving, compassionate, willing to sacrifice everything for us. He didn’t list our sins before us, instead He forgave them. Unfortunately I wasted a good chunk of my life, believing God was like my father – that he expected more from me, got angry when I didn’t obey, judged me and my sins and was beyond my reach. Our earthly dads have a responsibility that goes far beyond this life. They are creating new life. They need to follow through with their own example of how to live.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.