Thwarted View
2 Corinthians 6:18: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels!
First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break! As we head back into the school year, I pray God goes before you and blesses each day as you serve Him!
I am thrilled to come back from summer with a series by one of my favorite authors, Julie Lesman! Today’s inspirational moment comes from her novel A Light in the Window. We will be discussing this book further in Friday’s episode, so be sure to tune in!
Julie packs her novels with grit, drama, passion, and God’s truth, so I will share a few inspirational messages from her novel. They all circle back to the fact that God is our Father. We are His sons and daughters. And He is a good, awesome, and loving Father!
Thwarted View of God
I want to start by talking about the potential we have in carrying a thwarted view of God in our minds. Julie’s hero Patrick O’Connor has a demeaning father who is abusive both physically and verbally. Patrick compensates by leaning on his own confidence and ability to have any woman he wants. Which he does, as he is the Greek god of the Southie Neighborhood.
That is until he meets the woman of his dreams Marceline Murphy. She is a woman of God who has no desire to be with the neighborhood rogue. I say all of this to set up the snippet of a scene between Patrick and Marceline. He is practically begging Marcy to give him a chance. Let’s listen to the snippet and then dive in to find God’s truth! (This snippet starts off in Patrick’s head as he recalls his father’s words to him.)
“You’re a waste of a man, Patrick O’Connor,” his father would say, “selling your soul to the devil instead of living for God.” But then it was “God” Who belittled him through the very judgment in his father’s eyes, rejected him through the condemnation in his father’s barbs. While the devil had only given him free reign to be accepted and approved, if only in the eyes and hearts of Southie lasses. Defiance steeled his jaw. All but one. His gaze flicked up to the blue eyes soft with pity and angel’s face gentled with empathy that was nothing more than condescension in disguise. Oh, how he craved to turn his back the very faith she espoused. (Julie Lessman, A Light in the Window page 86)
The scene spirals out of control from here as you can well imagine. However, I want to stop and look at Patrick’s thwarted view of God. He equates God the Father with his earthly father, yet the two are nothing alike.
Unfortunately, many of us have been or still are stuck in this thwarted view of God, just like Patrick. In fact, Julie also held the same view as Patrick until she surrendered her life to our only one true Father, God Himself!
I was blessed with a wonderful loving earthly father who provided and protected. Which was quite a job for him as God gave him six daughters! Yeah, you can imagine but let’s get back to the topic here. I have always viewed our Heavenly Father as loving and protective because that is the example my father gave me.
Now, I don’t share this to make anyone feel bad about their father or to raise mine up because as great as my dad is, he’s still human and makes mistakes. I share my experience to show you how our earthly fathers have the influence and power to set us up for a loving relationship with God or to push us away to the point we hate our Heavenly Father and want nothing to do with Him.
A man’s lack of faith and willingness to compromise will be passed on for three generations. A man who stands in faith and lives for God blesses his family for generations to come. (Pastor Jim Brown) Our father’s carry a huge responsibility. One they can excel at if they surrender their life to God.
If your earthly father has not provided you with an example of our Heavenly Father that reflects God’s great love for you, then I want you to know that God is the best and most loving Father you will ever have. He will never leave nor forsake you. Don’t let your earthly father thwart your view of God!
I want to quickly address this line from Patrick’s thoughts: While the devil had only given him free reign to be accepted and approved, if only in the eyes and hearts of Southie lasses. This is how Satan works. He disguises himself and highlights the good while covering the death that comes from your sins. He accuses you and assigns you an identity in shame, keeping you from God’s freedom. (Pastor Mike Sillman)
Don’t fall for the devil’s schemes. Cling to God’s word and tell Satan to take a hike!
The Power of Prayer
Julie brings in a wonderful mentor for Patrick, Father Fritz. He’s full of wisdom and quite a hoot to boot! He lead’s Patrick through his God transformation. I am going to share a snippet of a conversation between the two of them where Father Fritz is encouraging Patrick to beseech God in prayer.
It was Patrick’s turn to laugh. “Come on, Father, do you really think God would listen to me any more than Marcy did?”
Father Fritz studied him with a faint smile. “Actually, Patrick, He has a propensity for prayers uttered from the heart, especially when one bows his knee at His throne.” He squinted, scratching the edge of his chin. “Tends to be a wee bit partial, He does, to a man after His own heart as I recall. Just look at King David in the Bible--a bit of a rogue such as yourself, lusting after another man’s wife, and yet God called him ‘a man after His own heart.’ Why?” Father Fitz leaned in, his gaze pinning Patrick to the wall. “Because he repented of his sins and moved on to be the man God called him to be--a man who not only lives his life for God, mind you…but with Him.” He slowly leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Patrick’s face. “Something tells me, my boy, that before a man can truly win the heart of a woman like Marceline Murphy, his own heart must be aligned with God’s. So…if this young woman means to you all you say she does…”
A nerve twittered in Patrick’s temple. “She does.”
“Well, then I would think you’d want to hedge your bets with a chat or two with the Almighty, wouldn’t you?” (Julie Lessman, A Light in the Window page 196)
Wow, what a powerful scene! Prayer often tends to be our last resort, but it should be our first line of defense. In fact, praying and talking to God should be as natural as talking to your best friend and something you do daily. Prayer is powerful and I don’t say that to be cheesy, I truly believe it. I love how Julie says we should hedge our bets with a chat with the Almighty. All I can say is Amen because when God is in the middle of it, anything is possible!
Patrick is not the only one who struggles throughout this novel. Marcy is facing her own doubts and fears. She is blessed with a wonderful mother and grandmother who pour wisdom into her. Here is a snippet of a conversation with her grandmother.
Mima bent close, her words warm and husky in Marcy’s ear. “Not to worry, darlin’—the decision may be yours, but the strength and wisdom will be all His. Because never forget…” Mima tipped her face up, shoring Marcy with a deep faith carefully honed by time. “God honors those who honor Him, and He always answers their prayers.” (Julie Lessman, A Light in the Window, page 266)
God answers our prayers in His timing, which isn’t always aligned with our timing. Your prayers do not have an expiration date. Seek God’s will and pray unceasingly!
I could go on with the many inspirational moments Julie gives her readers, but I will stop here. You will love Patrick and Marcy’s story! I strongly recommend it along with all of Julie’s books. I will put a link to A Light in the Window below.
In Friday’s episode Tiff and I will dive into the novel and give you the scoop! Then next week we will follow Patrick and Marcy as they navigate WWI with their family, in Julie’s novel, A Passion Most Pure. Until next time happy and blessed reading!
Click the book cover above, to purchase this book on Amazon. (Affiliate Link)
