God's Challenge for Dads

Have you gotten comfortable—maybe even complacent—in your spiritual life? Maybe you can check off all the right boxes—going to church, reading your Bible, praying before meals. Maybe you even lead a small group or serve as a deacon and tithe regularly. But when was the last time someone really shook up your faith, really challenged you to get after it, to pursue God with your whole heart?

In this devotional written specifically for dads, Eric Ballard draws wisdom from the men written about in the Bible to push you out of your comfort zone and into a more authentic, whole-hearted relationship with God, which will lead to more meaningful relationships with your family, coworkers, and community. Each devotional includes a scripture, insight into the context and purpose of the passage, a brief prayer, and a challenge. Sometimes the challenges are external—simple ways to let your wife know you think she’s amazing or to make your children feel cared for. Sometimes they’re internal—like daring to let go of your own self-sufficiency and acknowledge you can’t do anything right without the Holy Spirit working through you.

Allow yourself to be pushed, stretched, and molded into the dad God has called you to be. Discover the Bible’s wisdom on everything from work struggles to parenting difficult kids to loving your wife well. Take an honest look at the idols you need to lay down, now. Look a little closer at how you think and talk about work. Discover what godly parenting really means.

Are you ready to accept God’s challenge? Your kids will be grown before you know it. Don't wait another minute to become the dad God wants you to be.

Eric R. Ballard is a youth and college pastor, an outdoor enthusiast, a husband, and a father to two beautiful daughters. He is the author of Finding Jesus in the Old Testament and Rite of Passage: The Making of a Godly Man . With an undergraduate degree in educational psychology from Mississippi State University, he also has an advanced degree from New Orleans Baptist Seminary in Christian education. He lives in Katy, Texas.