“For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.” Psalm 27:10
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.” Psalm 68:5
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” Psalm 82:3
“The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” Psalm 146:9
As I was writing the last post I felt that I needed to write a follow up posting as a reminder to those who either grew up without a parent or parents present or a parent or parents who never held up on their responsibilities to their child(ren). I can say that I understand because I was one of the later of those two cases. I look back on my life now and see all that I’ve been through and dealt with in my life and when I look I have to admit and testify to seeing God’s hand in many circumstances. While He hasn’t made my life easy and I’m still waiting on Him as I write this post to answer prayers from over 30 years ago and promises that He has made me over the last 24 years I can see the times that He “hemmed me in” and “ordered my steps” Psalm 139:5, Psalm 119:133-134, and Psalm 37:23. The last of those verses reminds me though that we have to be willing to seek God’s direction and to follow as He asks of us or as the verse says in the ESV we have to “delight in His way”.
I want to leave us with some encouragement. In my last post was the reminder that we who believe in Christ are God’s children. I think these three verses are good encouragement in light of that.
“God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” Psalm 68:6
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
or lack compassion for the child of her womb?
Even if these forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
your walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:15-16
“I [Jesus] will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18
Father God, as I write this I ask not just for myself but also for my brothers and sisters who have been deeply wounded by lack of parental care. I thank You for being my Father and I thank You for counting me as Your son. Help us to see Your face today and shine down Your glory upon us. Bless us each and every one as we come to you with our wounds, in our need, in our suffering, our loneliness, and pain. Father, we sometimes need physical representations of Your love, devotion, and blessings over us. We need the homes and families that You promise to us in scripture. Your word says that if we come to you with a need or a desire that is within Your will that all we have to do is ask in the authority of Christ’s name. God I do that for us today, please remember Your promises to me and remember all of the prayers that I have prayed through the years. I ask that You would honor not only these but the prayers of my brothers and sisters who are laying their petitions and needs before you as well. We are hurting Father and we need You to lift us up as Your children and to bless us out of Your glorious riches. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ. AMEN
This Narrow Path... 