Can You Trust God as ‘Father’?

For many Christians, worship is more than music.

Key points:

It’s a way to realign our hearts to God and calm the noise of life, but what do you do when the chaos is overwhelming? Or your hurt is hindering you from worship?

Paul and Hannah McClure have spent more than a decade at Bethel Church in California, leading worship and learning from an environment that priorities the presence of God.

Their new live album, After Your Heart comes after Paul found resolution to “father wounds” that had hindered his worship, and the comparison trap both he and Hannah dealt with while developing their songwriting.  

After Your Heart comes after Paul found resolution to “father wounds”, and the comparison trap both have dealt with.  

“For a lot of my life, I’ve kind of lived in this orphan place,” Paul told Hope 103.2’s UNDISTRACTED podcast.

“When you don’t have a good perspective on who God is as Father – if [we have] a difficult relationship with our earthly dad – [it’s hard] to see the Father rightly.

“There’s a lot of striving you do. There’s a lot of, ‘I’m responsible for this. I have to do this. I have to be stronger, and I have to try harder’.

“But as our perspective of the Father is healed, we learn how to become a son, become a daughter who is dependent on God.”

That theme of surrender and “staying in a place of humility” runs right through the album, shaping the couple’s approach to worship and why they seek out God.

“There definitely is always peace [in God’s presence] and kindness,” Hannah said.

“I told my kids this the other day: if you feel like there’s a harsh voice in your head, that’s not the Father’s voice.

“Whatever He speaks, it’s always with kindness. Even if it is correction, it’s a kind voice speaking to us.”

For Paul, “when I feel like my perspective gets skewed, and when I’m in the presence, things just become a lot more clear, a lot less confusing”.

“I think that’s because God is not confusing, and chaos is not of God,” Paul said.

“Whatever He speaks, it’s always with kindness. Even if it is correction, it’s a kind voice speaking to us.”

In times where life leaves you feeling distant from God, Paul and Hannah believe closing that gap is about being honest with Him.

“I used to feel like having great faith meant that the outcome will be great,” Hannah said.

“Or the outcome will be what I want it to be, or maybe what I expect it to be.

“Walking through some difficult seasons, I realised my faith is now that His goodness remains and that He’s going to walk with me so that I’m not alone in the difficult things.”

“I grew up thinking joy was the only okay emotion,” Paul said.

Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with guests Paul and Hannah McClure in the player above.

“Like, if you’re not happy, you’re not spiritual enough or you’re not doing something right.

“And I’m learning that the Father is like, ‘I want to be with you in your disappointment, in your sadness, in your grief’.

“He’s not afraid of those emotions.

“So even when I don’t feel joy, He’s still there. That’s been a big shift for me.”

Paul and Hannah McClure’s album After Your Heart is out now.

Listen to the full episode of UNDISTRACTED with guests Paul and Hannah McClure in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts.

Feature image: Supplied (Paul and Hannah McClure)