"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you."
~Jesus
{John 14:18}
{Orphans by Thomas Kennington. Courtesy of Google Images}
The month of November marks a time to draw the attention of the world to the cause of Fatherless. It is Orphan Awareness Month and today in particular, is Orphan Sunday, in many of the churches across the United States. Throughout this month I will highlight several adoption agencies as well as other ways that you can help families going through the adoption process. If you know of an agency, adoption fund, or charity that you would like for me to highlight, email me at: megan.card@gmail.com.
I believe that the Lord has an especially tender heart towards those who are Fatherless in the physical realm, and throughout Scripture we see the Lord acting a Shield and Defender to the widowed and orphaned.
"O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphaned and the oppressed." Psalm 10:17-18a
"You shall not afflict any widow or orphan."
Exodus 22:22
"He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien (foreigner) by giving him food and clothing."
Deuteronomy 24:17
"You have been the helper of the orphan..."
Psalm 10:14c
"Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."
Isaiah 1:17
"A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His Holy habitation."
Psalm 68:5
"Vindicate the weak and the fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute."
Psalm 82:3
"The LORD protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked."
Psalm 146:9
{And this is by no means an exhaustive list of all of the references in Scripture to the fatherless}
I personally believe that the Lord has called upon the church- those who are followers of Christ- His bride, to take up the cause of the orphan. To advocate on their behalf. To pray for them. To care for them. To support them financially. To feed them. To clothe them. To adopt them into their families. We can no longer ignore their cries for help. We can no longer sit back and wait for someone else to come alongside them. We can no longer hoard the wealth and resources that God has given us.
We. Must. Do. Something.
What has the Lord called you to do? Has He called you to pray and to fast on their behalf? Has He called you to feed them and clothe them by means of giving away some of your own possessions? Has He called you to support them financially by giving to a family currently undergoing the process of adoption? Or perhaps He has called you to open up your home by way of adoption, and give them the gift of a family? Whatever it is that He has called you to do...do it. {"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." James 1:22} His word has not given us the option to sit idly on the sidelines.
For me and my family, the Lord has called us to adopt, and the only thing that is keeping us from doing so at this point in time is finances. Yet we have chosen to wait upon the Lord, for we know, that at His appointed time, He will provide us with the resources needed to carry out that which He has asked of us. I cannot wait to one day hold my daughter in my arms and whisper in her ear, "You are an orphan no more."
What has the Lord required of you?
