Spiritual Growth and Encouragement for Christian Women

10 Things I Love about Being God’s Daughter

10 Things I Love about Being God’s Daughter

It’s rare, but wonderful, for a woman to be able to say “I have the perfect father.”

If you grew up with a great dad, God blessed you with a glimpse of what life with your heavenly Father can be like. But if you’re like many women – and had a distant, hurtful, or even non-existent relationship with a father – God wants to more than make up for that now, by being the Father you’ve always wanted and needed.

Scripture tells us we have a God who loved us so much that He adopted us and made it possible for us to call Him the most intimate of names--Daddy. 1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are” (NASB).  And Romans 8:15 tells us “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, 'Abba, Father'” (NLT).

A better English translation of “Abba Father” from the original Greek in that passage would be “Papa” or “Daddy” – often the first word a child utters when he or she learns to speak. It’s a “cuddling-up-with-Daddy” intimate term that Jesus, Himself, used when He prayed to His Papa. Jesus taught, through a saving relationship with Him, we could know God intimately as our Daddy, too.

What a privilege that is.  And if you don’t yet know that kind of closeness with God, let me encourage you with 10 things I love about being God’s daughter. These are also 10 things you can experience with Him, too.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Takako Watanabe

  • 1. I Am Always Accepted by My Father God

    1. I Am Always Accepted by My Father God

    When I was writing my book, When a Woman Overcomes Life’s Hurts, I discovered one of the deepest wounds women carried into their adulthood was either the lack of a father’s presence in their lives, or not feeling loved and accepted by him. Yet, God makes it clear in His Word that we can come to Him as we are and He will love and accept us unconditionally. 

    Romans 5:8 tells us: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (emphasis added, ESV). That means if there was nothing we could do to earn God’s love, there’s nothing we can do to lose it. It also means we never have to perform or try to measure up to our Heavenly Father’s standards because Jesus already did! We are enough because God sees us through what Jesus accomplished on the cross on our behalf. You and I have a God who doesn’t love and accept us based upon our behavior or our accomplishments, or what we make of ourselves. His acceptance of us is based on our faith in His perfect Son (Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 11:6). That is unconditional love and acceptance by our Father. And that will never change.

    2. I Can Come to Him Confidently.

    Because of God’s unconditional love and acceptance, I can also approach Him boldly, unlike a child who might be fearful of her father’s response. As a child of an alcoholic, I grew up in fear of my father’s reaction if I were to make a dent in a wall or a scratch on our car, or break something of value.

    I learned how to tiptoe around him and to do everything I could to be as “good” as I could in order to keep the peace. 

    My father is now nearly 40 years sober and is a new man through the transforming power of God’s Holy Spirit. Today, I know I can call him, under any circumstance, and receive his love, acceptance, and support.

    Yet, God’s love, comfort, presence, and help is far more accessible to us than any earthly father’s. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that because we have a High Priest (Jesus) who can sympathize with us, we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NKJV).

    When we are in relationship with Jesus, we can confidently approach our Daddy God at any time of the day and night. And that makes a daughter feel special. 

    Photo Credit: ©Pexels/Katii Bishop

  • obedience, obedience meaning, scriptures on obedience, how to obey god

    3. I Always Have His Listening Ear

    What makes a woman feel more loved than when someone listens to her intently and truly cares?  I have the assurance from God’s Word that He hears my cries (and even saves my tears in a bottle – Psalm 56:8), and that I will receive whatever I ask of Him in faith (Matthew 21:22).

    First John 5:14-15 elaborates on the loving, listening ear of God toward His beloved daughters: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” (ESV).

    That’s quite a promise when it’s coming from a Father who owns it all (Psalm 50:10) and can do it all!

    4. I Have the Assurance That He Is GOOD

    We all need a Daddy we can look up to and respect. It’s important to us to have a father who is a man of integrity, compassion, and goodness. Although the Bible says all (including all earthly fathers) have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), the character of our Heavenly Father is never in question. Psalm 18:30 says all His ways are perfect. He is good to the core.

    Even when I don’t understand why He allows certain things, I can still be at peace knowing He causes all things--even the bad things--to work for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). And He does that by making me more like His perfect Son, Jesus, in the process (verse 29). That means He not only provides for my temporary good, but for my eternal best. 

    I love the comparison Jesus made in Matthew 7:11 when he said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” I love being the daughter of a good Father who promises “no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless” (Psalm 84:11).

    Photo Credit: ©Sparrowstock

  • 5. I Know He Will Never Walk Out on Me

    5. I Know He Will Never Walk Out on Me

    Many women grew up with a father--or fathers--who left, emotionally or physically. But that will never happen when it comes to our Heavenly Father.

    God promised, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). And in Psalm 139:7-12 we are assured there is no place we can go where His loving presence will not follow. Even if everyone you’ve ever loved or depended upon has walked out on you, your Heavenly Father never will. He’s a Daddy who will go the distance with His daughters.

    6. He Always Has My Back

    Psalm 139 not only assures us that God’s loving presence will never leave, but it elaborates on the detail with which God protects us and has our backs. In verse 5, the Psalmist said, “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.”

    And in Psalm 71, an inspired songwriter said, “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long—though I know not how to relate them all.”

    Imagine how many times your Heavenly Daddy has rescued you throughout the day and you weren’t even aware of it. No personal bodyguard, best friend, boyfriend, husband, secret-service agent, or high-priced security company can watch your back or rescue you like that.

    A loved daughter of God can truly sing the words of Psalm 4:8: “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” That is true security and protection. And that is a Daddy who goes before me, walks alongside me, and always has my back. 

    Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Radu Florin

  • woman eyes closed in peaceful open hands prayer

    7. I Can Tell Him Anything

    Do you ever want to pour out your heart to someone but you’re not sure how it will be received? Will you say it right? Will it be misunderstood? Will you be rejected for it? You never have to worry about that with your Heavenly Father. Psalm 62:8 tells us, “Trust in Him at all times… Pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us” (NASB).

    How wonderful that I can vent and He can handle it. I don’t have to worry that He will judge, condemn, reject or misunderstand anything. Since Romans 8:1 tells me there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, I know that anything I say is safe with Him.

    8. He Knows Me Intimately

    When I was a child, my mother used to say, “I know you better than you know yourself.”  How can anyone know us better than we know ourselves? We tend to hide so much and there are so many layers to who we are. Yet, I find it comforting to know that there is One who knows me better than I will ever know myself and that is my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and Father God.

    He is the only One who knows the motives and intentions of my heart. And that means He never misjudges me or thinks ill of me.

    David, the songwriter who knew God intimately, said in Psalm 139 that God searches us and knows us. He knows when we sit and rise and perceives our thoughts from a far. He discerns why we do things and is familiar with all our ways (verses 1-3). He created our inmost being, knit us together in our mothers’ wombs as He molded us together in the secret place, saw our unformed bodies, and planned all our days before they came to be (verses 14-16).

    Now that is a Daddy who knows you and me from the inside out. And yet He still chooses to love us. 

    Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/digitalskillet

  • hands in heart formation over cross, falling in love with Jesus

    9. He Will Never Withdraw His Love

    We live in a world in which people come and go. Feelings change. Promises are broken. Divorce happens.

    And yet, God tells us most assuredly in His Word that His love is unlike anything we’ve experienced on this earth. Not only will He never leave us, but He promises, regardless of our actions or circumstances, that His love is here to stay.

    In Jeremiah 31:3 God pledged His love for those who follow His Son when He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness” (NASB). And in Romans 8:38-39 He makes sure we know that nothing we--or anyone else--could do will ever separate us from His enduring love.

    That is the love of a Daddy for His daughter. And that is a love that can be yours, too.

    10. He Has Secured My Future

    Some people fret about what kind of an inheritance their family might leave them. Yet, I never have to worry about that. My future and my inheritance are all about Whose child I am, eternally.

    Psalm 16 assures me that my Heavenly Father will provide for me throughout this lifetime and in the one to come when it says, “Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (verses 5-6).

    Ephesians 1:3-14 gives me just a glimpse of the inheritance I have now in Christ Jesus, not just one day future when I’ll live in His presence. He has not only “blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (verse 3) but also extends those blessings to our lives on earth as we walk in His will.

    I never have to shake my head and say “It’s all who you know” when it comes to getting the call, or obtaining the job, or securing that promotion. Because my Heavenly Daddy is God, I know the One who can open any door, secure any deal, break down any wall, and divide any sea. He’s the best agent, boss or bodyguard I could ever have.

    He gives His daughters a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11) and calls them His beloved. If you ever start to feel badly about the family you were born into, or the dysfunction in which you were raised, you have a new lineage in Christ Jesus and that makes you a daughter of the best Daddy there is.

    For more on growing in an intimate relationship with God to where you can call Him “Daddy,” see Cindi’s books, Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs,   God’s Whispers to a Woman’s Heartand When God Sees Your Tears.

    Photo Credit: ©Davizro

    Cindi McMenamin headshotCindi McMenamin is a national speaker, Bible teacher, and award-winning writer who helps women and couples strengthen their relationship with God and others. She is the author of 17 books, including When Women Walk Alone (more than 160,000 copies sold), When God Sees Your TearsWhen a Woman Overcomes Life’s Hurts, and When Couples Walk Together:31 Days to a Closer Connectionwhich she co-authored with her husband of 36 years. Her newest book, The New Loneliness: Nurturing Meaningful Connections When You Feel Isolated, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. For more on her speaking ministry, coaching services for writers, and books to strengthen your soul, marriage, and parenting, see her website: www.StrengthForTheSoul.com