Daughter of THE FATHER’s JOY

The term Daughter is used here to mean Offspring (Acts 17:28); it does NOT mean female only. Relative to the context of this blog, the term is used to represent anyone who carries the Seed that the Word of God is. This includes Seed Carriers like Abraham (a seed-giver) and Mary (a seed-receiver) … it includes anyone who carries God’s Word (Psalm 68:11). 2 Corinthians 4:7 refers to us as earthen vessels carrying a precious treasure (God’s Word).

To further clarify, the term Daughter represents anyone who is pregnant with the Word and promises of God … anyone who is a representation of a Womb (heart, hearth, or earthen vessel) that houses God’s Word. This Womb is formed when we believe God. Out of it flows Rivers of Living Water (God’s Word – the very Word with which we wet God’s Feet). The term refers to anyone who springs off or out of THE SEVEN – the Daughter of THE SEVEN aka BatSheva (BathSheba).

PS: In Hebrew, Bat means Daughter and Sheva means Seven or Oath.

Remember when God wanted to show more convincingly and beyond doubt the unchangeable character of His intentions regarding what He promised, and (to do this) He added an Oath to His Promise so that, by two immutable things, the righteous who run into His Name (by truthfully calling upon His Name) may have strong encouragement and mighty indwelling strength to grasp and hold fast to His promised Hope (Jeremiah 29:11) with both hand, never letting go?? Remember this?? 👉Hebrew 6:17-18. Boa! The Oath by which God swore is THE SEVEN.

WHO is THE SEVEN?

THE SEVEN COURSE MEAL #BreakFastinBedwithGod

Today is another breakfast in bed with God Day (the fourth in the yearly series since God started it … yup, He started it 🥰). As God would have it, the Verse of the Day on the YouVersion bible app helped set the mood for what was to come . PS: this mood-setting for what’s to come is such a HolySpirit move (check out John 16:13 for more details 😊).

As soon as I read it, I knew God wanted me to focus on His Heart: His JOY. I had no idea at the time that this blog would ensue however, I knew my focus for the day had to be on The FATHER’s Heart … He wanted me to prioritize His JOY. Not only did He call me the Daughter of THE SEVEN (the Daughter of His JOY), He confirmed where He wanted my focus to be again (a second time) and again (a third time). One thing led to another which led to me reading DoN’T be Ruthless. As I read it, God taught me what it means to be the Daughter of His JOY like Ruth was (and still is).

Here’s a handful and MORE of what God showed me:

1️⃣ Daughters = Those who pray to (or petition) The FATHER = Worshipers

2️⃣ Daughters = Followers (of God)

Ruth fits the profile of the person described in the above verse – she was set among God’s people (howbeit against the law), she was given a goodly heritage and treated like a honored Son (i.e. better than seven sons), she called God her God (FATHER), and did NOT turn from following Him. Several times along the way, Naomi persuaded her to  return to Moab but Ruth did not. Instead, Ruth was resolute in her choice to continue on –Ruth 1:16.

Going by what God said in Jeremiah 3:19, following God = acknowledging the Fatherhood of God. Kindly note that calling God ‘my FATHER’ is not by mere word of mouth. In stead, it is by the action of following God in thought, word, and deed. This is what Ruth did. This too is what Jesus did.

3️⃣ WHEN we follow God, we are truthfully saying His Name: YAHWEH (The ever-present One) … we are truthfully acknowledging that God is present. In other words, we are actionably saying (truth-telling) that His Name is true.

In like manner, Daughters do NOT lie. Here’s why (God makes it so) 👇.

4️⃣ Daughters = Truth Tellers (Sons)

Truth telling pleases The FATHER’s Heart. This is why He does NOT take His Eyes (THE SEVEN) off those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24). His Word is Spirit (John 6:63B) and Truth (John 17:17). This Truth is the essence and language (VOICE) of The FATHER’s Love, His delight, His JOY … this Truth is the HolySpirit. Know The TRUTH … know His WAY (the unforced rhythm of Grace) … know His JOY (The LIFE – the very Life of God in us). Live The LIFE. Go forward in line with Him –Galatians 5:16A,25– follow God by telling the Truth to God, walk and talk with the Truth-telling, Way-making, and Life-giving Spirit of God.

How does one see and then follow in God’s Footsteps? Psalm 77:19 tells the truth that God’s Footprints are untraceable, invisible, and unseen to the human eye. YET, God’s Feet are wetable and dare I say kissable! 💖. As inspired by God, my answer to the question is this 👉 put butterflies (pure, ecstatic JOY, praise aka Truth) in His Stomach … tickle His fancy … better yet, put honey in His Comb! God desires Truth in the inmost being (Psalm 51:6) – this includes His very Own inmost being. Every version of this answer is what happens when we tell the Truth to God … it’s what happens when we pray (praise).

In Bem-Vindo, ISSACHAR and I shared that one of the ways to welcome God is to WET (water) His Feet – this happens when Truth is actionably told, when prayerful praise (prayer-raised, Truth) is given to God to chew on – this too is how we WHET His appetite. When this happens, the unseen (God’s Beautiful Feet which like Hope is unseen) becomes visible. When we pray (i.e. invite or Welcome God), God feeds (Revelation 5:8). When God feeds, humanly impossible things like seeing God, seeing God move, seeing God come (what’s next), or seeing God’s Feet happen. There’s evidence in support of this 👇.

5️⃣ When we pray (speak the Truth to God) … when we truthfully acknowledge God as FATHER … when we call upon His Holy Name (YAHWEH) … when we echo back to Him what He said that He has done … when we tell the ‘Truth to God‘, we water His Feet. Resultingly, God’s Footsteps becomes visible to and for us to follow. To follow in God’s Footsteps is to prayerfully (praisefully) follow Him.

6️⃣ Following God leads to Knowing God (The LORD is salvation)

God makes Himself known to Himself and to us when He shows His salvation. This knowledge of God delights His Heart – this JOY, the JOY of Salvation (of Himself … this JOY of seeing and knowing Himself in and through us) is so called for a reason. Exalt Him … prioritize The FATHER’s JOY – let Him feed first#BOAZ. Prioritize The FATHER’s JOY – put Him on display and let Him be known by praising Him (by raising Truth). Prioritize The FATHER’s JOY by following Him. Psalm 37:3-7A (VOICE).

Following God is like the righteousness from faith that leads to faith – it is the pleasure of The FATHER of the righteous that Proverbs 23:24 talks about. The beginning and end next step of this righteous walk/run/soar is all about knowing God. It’s safe to say that every follower of Christ is actively on a journey with God to know God again (or to meet God anew). God enjoys this Spirit-and-Truth adventure of faith that keeps us saying ‘What’s next, Papa?’ Romans 8:15 (MSG), it keeps us following God no matter What (even if/when it means going against traffic, the norm, and/or the law) – this is wisdom.

Those who persistently follow God exhibit the untired, unwearied, never-worn-out again and again of THE SEVEN 🥰. I mentioned earlier and in DoN’T be Ruthless that Ruth unrelentingly continued to follow God by speaking the Truth (and keeping her Vow: God’s Word). She followed God and went against traffic – she went against the law of sin and death (the law resulting from sin and that leads to death). So did Elijah – he went against a different kind of law, he went against the law of physics, gravity, and human-dynamics: he outran a fast-moving chariot with all its horsepower without being tired (1 Kings 18:41-43). Both Ruth and Elijah did this because their loins were girded with Truth. This Truth enabled them persist (Ruth continued with Naomi and took care of her. Elijah continued praying – he prayed seven times … he continued to wet God’s Feet until God watered). Proverbs 11:25(AMPC)

The Truth that girded both Ruth’s and Elijah’s loins is Who enabled them enter into JEZREEL … the place wherein God sows/plants us in Him … in ZION … in Eden (the Garden of God’s delight) – His Garden City … His Heart: the desirable Country mentioned in Hebrews 11:16.

In this City, there’s no toiling … lilies (Truth tellers) grow There because the Water-filled (JOY-filled) River of God makes the City glad. In this City is where we blossom into the Garden that God wants … the City that God wants –Isaiah 62:12(ERV) – The Daughter of His JOY … The Daughter of what God wants.

So far, we’ve seen that Daughter= Those who pray to The FATHER = His Followers = Truth Tellers = Sons = Worshipers = What God wants (His JOY).

All of the above nuggets can be seen as a representation of the six portion of Barley that Boaz gave Ruth (in Ruth 3:15). Speaking of#BOAZ, here’s a truthful fun fact: his name means Strength or Swiftness or Ẹlẹ́bùrúìkẹ́. In more ways than one, Boaz is God-like: he is a representation of the Kinsman-Redeemer or HusbandMan that God is. He too was found feeding in his Garden of Delight: The Threshing Floor, the Place of Harvest (where THE LORD of The Harvest is found). In the same way that God gave us all that He worked on over the course of the six (days of creation), Boaz too gave Ruth what he was working on – what He was winnowing, what He was preparing, the reward of his work: the Joy of Harvest (aka REST).

7️⃣ JOY = The Reward of God’s Work (in, for, and through us) = REST 😊

God’s reward for the all-inclusive GOOD work that He did in Genesis 1 is REST (Genesis 2:1-3). ISSACHAR saw that REST is GOOD so He did all the work that was required –Genesis 49:15(KJV). For the JOY (of obtaining the prize) that was set before Him, Christ did the needful (i.e. enduring the cross, paying the price, bearing the brunt) –Hebrews 12:2(AMPC). These verses connect the dots and show the correlation between JOY and REST.

“shall I not seek rest (a home) for you that you may prosper?“

These were Naomi’s words to Ruth at the start of the third chapter of the book of Ruth. Following this were a series of instructions that Ruth was to follow in order to enter into the place of JOYFUL REST. In essence, Naomi told Ruth exactly what Christ told us inMatthew 11:28. She said to Ruth: (1) prepare (2) GO meet BOAZwhere He is, (3) WAIT until He finishes what He is doing – prioritize His Joy, (4) NOTICE where He rests, (5) UNCOVER His Feet, (6) lay down at His feet (bow down – Psalm 45:11 … humble yourself and pray – tell the truth of Who He is to Him: praise Him), and (7) rest There (where He rests). He’ll tell you what to do.

My Daughter, fear NOT, I will do for you all you require … you won’t have to toil for it. Kekalotho, I AM with you, I AM for you, My PRESENCE (the fullness of My JOY … the JOY that belongs to My chosen place) will go with you and I will give you REST. I Myself will do it as I have done it – JOYFULLY. Thus, it is settled. It is finished. It is DONE. It is so. So be it. It will happen. AMEN!Wait here until JOY comes.#Tẹnumọ