This 5-day devotional draws directly from Calvary Hawthorne's sermon “SUNDAY WORSHIP | 10 AM | DR. HOSEA COLLINS | CALVARY HAWTHORNE | 06.21.2026 - 2026-06-22” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
Who's Your Daddy?
A 5-Day Devotional Series
You Already Have a Father Who Claimed You
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever felt like you were on your own — like you had to figure everything out yourself, with no one really in your corner?
Today's Scripture "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." — Galatians 4:4–6
Reflection Here's the truth that can change everything: Jesus didn't come to earth just to get you into heaven someday. He came to give you back your Father.
When the first humans walked away from God in the garden, they didn't just lose paradise — they lost their relationship with the one who was their source, their sustainer, their everything. And everything that followed — the brokenness, the fear, the feeling of being lost — flowed from that one broken connection.
So God went to work to get his children back. Jesus came, paid the price, and made it possible for you to be adopted — fully, legally, permanently — into God's family. Not as a distant relative. Not as a servant hoping for a scrap. As a son. As a daughter. With all the rights that come with it.
The word Abba that Paul uses here isn't formal. It's intimate. It's what a child calls their daddy when they run in from the backyard. That's the kind of relationship God is offering you — close, personal, and real.
Today's Step Take a moment today and just say it out loud: "God is my Father." Let that land somewhere deeper than your head.
A Closing Thought You were not meant to go through this life alone. You have a Father, and he has claimed you as his own.
When Trust Doesn't Come Easy
Tuesday — When It's Hard
If the word father carries pain for you — because of absence, disappointment, or wounds that never fully healed — this one's for you.
Today's Scripture "Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." — Galatians 4:7
Reflection Knowing something in your head and believing it in your gut are two very different things. You can read that God is your Father a hundred times and still find yourself white-knuckling through hard moments, convinced that you're really on your own.
A lot of that comes from what we've experienced with the earthly fathers in our lives. When the person who was supposed to show you what a father looks like was absent, or harsh, or just not there — it leaves a mark. It can make the idea of a good father feel almost too good to be true.
And even if your earthly father was wonderful, there are still moments when God feels far away. When the bills pile up, when the diagnosis comes, when the relationship falls apart — and the silence feels louder than any promise.
But here's what's real: your feelings about God are not the final word on who God is. You are no longer a servant hoping to earn a place at the table. You are an heir. That's not based on how you feel today. It's based on what Jesus already did.
The struggle to trust isn't a sign that your faith is broken. It's an invitation to bring your honest self to a Father who already knows — and isn't going anywhere.
Today's Step What's the hardest part of trusting God as a good Father for you right now? Be honest with him about it today — he can handle it.
A Closing Thought You don't have to have it all figured out to come to him. You just have to come.
Stop Asking Like a Stranger
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
Think about the way a child asks their parent for something versus the way an employee asks their boss. The confidence is completely different.
Today's Scripture "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." — Romans 8:15
Reflection Here's a practical question worth sitting with: How do you actually talk to God when things get hard?
If your prayers sound more like a nervous employee making a formal request than a child calling out to their dad, it might be time to shift something. Not the words — the posture. The confidence.
A child who's hungry doesn't draft a memo. They walk into the kitchen and say, "I'm hungry." And the moment they say it, they can go back to playing — because they trust that someone who loves them is already working on the problem.
That's the kind of prayer life God is inviting you into. Not a performance. Not a perfectly worded petition. Just honest, direct, trusting conversation with a Father who already knows what you need and already has the resources to meet it.
This week, try three things. First, when worry creeps in, name it to God like you'd name it to someone you trust completely. Second, when you catch yourself spiraling into how is this going to work out, redirect that energy into who is with you. And third, when something good happens — even something small — thank him out loud, like you would thank a parent who came through for you.
The more you practice relating to God as Father rather than as a distant authority, the more natural it becomes.
Today's Step Today, bring one real, specific need to God in plain, honest language — no formality required. Just talk to your Father.
A Closing Thought Sonship carries a certain confidence. You're allowed to walk in it.
The Day the Panic Didn't Win
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Sometimes the most powerful thing isn't a sermon point — it's watching someone actually live it.
Today's Scripture "We have sinned with our fathers… Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known." — Psalm 106:6, 8
Reflection Imagine this: Everything goes sideways at once. One financial hit, then another, then two more — all landing before you can catch your breath. The kind of moment where panic feels like the only reasonable response.
Now imagine that instead of spiraling, you find your way to a quiet place and you remember — not just with your mind, but somewhere deeper — who your Father is. And something shifts. Not the circumstances. Not yet. But something in you.
That's not denial. That's not pretending everything is fine. That's maturity in the truest sense — the kind that comes from knowing the end of the story even when you can't see the next chapter.
The psalm tells us something remarkable: God showed up for his people not because they deserved it, not because they had it all together, but for his name's sake. Because his name was on the line. Because they were his, and he wasn't going to let that story end in defeat.
That same truth applies to you. When you carry his name and you're in a hard place, God's reputation is wrapped up in your outcome. He is not going to let you stay down. Not because you earned it — but because you're his.
The peace that passes understanding isn't the absence of hard things. It's the presence of a Father who's already working on what you can't see.
Today's Step Think of one situation in your life right now where you've been watching the how instead of trusting the who. Hand that one over today.
A Closing Thought He's never been caught off guard by what you're facing. He already knows — and he's already moving.
Walk Into the Weekend Like You Know Whose You Are
Friday — Carrying It Forward
The weekend is coming. So is the noise, the busyness, the old worries waiting right where you left them. Here's what to take with you.
Today's Scripture "We are called the children of God… and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ." — Romans 8:16–17
Reflection This week, we've been sitting with one question: Who's your daddy?
Not as a trivia question, but as a life question. Because the answer — really believing the answer — changes how you walk into a Monday morning, how you handle a frightening phone call, how you talk to yourself when you fail, and how you talk to God when you're desperate.
You are not an orphan trying to earn a place. You are not a servant hoping to stay in good standing. You are a son. You are a daughter. Adopted, claimed, and fully covered by the name of the one who owns everything.
That doesn't mean life gets easy. It means you don't face it alone, and you don't face it without resources. It means when the enemy tries to tell you what you're going to lose, you have a Father whose word carries more weight than any threat.
Going into this weekend, you'll probably bump into something that tempts you to forget all of this. A conversation that rattles you. A number that scares you. A moment that makes you feel small.
When that happens — don't forget whose child you are. Call on your Father first, before you call anyone else. Walk with the confidence of someone who knows their daddy, and knows their daddy is good.
Today's Step Write this somewhere you'll see it this weekend: "I know who my Father is — and that changes everything."
A Closing Thought You came into this week with a question. You leave with an answer. Now go live like you believe it.