Romans 8:15 informs us: “You received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” During a Bible study long ago, I was told that Abba is a less formal and more intimate word for Father and is similar to our crying, “Daddy!” The passage reminded me of a childhood experience.

There were some boys in the neighborhood who loved to pick on me. They called me names and threw rocks at me. One day when I was walking to the store, the bullies appeared with rocks in hand. I usually would run, but that day I stood there facing them, ready for the torture. To my amazement and relief, they looked terrified, dropped the rocks, and ran away. When I turned to run away before they came back, I looked up into a smiling face and cried out with relief, “Daddy!”

In the same manner that my daddy showed up to protect his child, God shows up in the distressing situations in our lives and watches over us as God’s children.

You received a Spirit that shows you are adopted as his children. With this Spirit, we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)