"He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." Zephaniah 3:17b (NLT)

When my son-in-law walks through his front door, he throws his arms wide open and calls out, "Elle!"

Two-year-old Elle races toward him in her awkward toddler run and throws herself into his embrace. He tosses her high in the air, then pulls her close, saying, "Elle, do you know how much Daddy loves you?"

When I have the privilege of watching this scene, I always think the same thing: My beautiful granddaughter will always know she's her daddy's girl.

A daddy's girl is loved even when she throws a tantrum and has to go to time out.

A daddy's girl feels beautiful even when she's in need of a tissue and has spaghetti stains on her shirt.

A daddy's girl doesn't need to search for love anywhere else, because her daddy has provided a safe and loving place in his heart.

Maybe as you read this, you think of your own dad. Perhaps he was absent, destructive, or failed to provide a safe shelter for his girl.

I understand that feeling.

I met my biological dad briefly at the age of 13, again at 17, and at 40 years of age I stood beside his casket to say goodbye to a man I really didn't know.

I will never be a daddy's girl in the sense that my granddaughter has experienced, but it doesn't mean I am exempt from a Father's love.

In the New Testament, Abba is mentioned only three times—and is closest to our word "daddy." When Jesus used it to describe His—and our—intimate relationship with God, it offended those within earshot. They questioned how He could use a term so familiar to describe God.

But I understand it perfectly. You see, regardless of an earthly father's love or absence, I'm still a Daddy's girl.

And so are you.

Our Abba Father delights and sings over us (Zephaniah 3:17). He adopts us as His own and offers a rich inheritance (Galatians 4:6-7). We walk into His waiting arms daily, and when we need correction, His love does not ebb. When we stand in front of Him with our sin-stained heart, or hold up tears for Him to dry, He remains our Abba Father.

Maybe you've been longing to fill that empty place left by an earthly father. As a Daddy's girl, you don't have to search for love anymore, because your Abba Father has provided a safe and loving place in his heart.

In fact, He's waiting with open arms.

Dear Abba, I hold up the gaps left by an earthly parent, and thank You for pouring into those places until I overflow with confidence in Whose I am. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

***

Related Resources:

Do You Know Him?

Visit Suzie's blog where she shares how she discovered a Father's love for the first time.

His Revolutionary Love by Lynn Cowell

A Confident Heart by Renee Swope

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Reflect and Respond:

How we identify ourselves is key to moving past a gap caused by an earthly father's lack.

Are you willing to redefine yourself as a Daddy's girl—completely, totally, thoroughly? He's already called you His own. Today, run into your Abba's waiting arms.

Power Verses:

Romans 8:16, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." (ESV)

Galatians 4:6-7, "You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, 'Papa! Father!' Doesn't that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you're also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance." (MSG)