Forgive Us

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18, NIV

 

We think of no one as more powerless or pitiable than an orphan. Nothing in my life stunned me as much as finding out that I was an orphan, that I was alone in the world. I was around three years old when my foster mom told me the truth. I didn't understand it completely, but there was nothing more painful than that moment. I had no mother or father; the ones who I thought were my parents were not. Even more, I found out that I was being kicked out of the home in several days.

 

Jesus said that He will not leave us as orphans. That He will come to us so that we will not feel the pain and hurt of being alone and uncomforted. Would you take a minute today to pray for the brokenhearted and discouraged, those who have been rejected, beaten, and emotionally abandoned through child abuse? These are good people who were left comfortless, and it is up to us to help them heal. I hope that you never experience the pain the abused have experienced.

 

I have counseled those who feel the need to cut themselves in order to relieve the pain of their ordeal. I have met many who have never reached their true potential because of violence or sexual assault. Their stories vary, but the outcome is that, with so few people to reach out, they are emotional orphans. They may seem like the misfits in your church, they may be awkward in the way they relate to others, but Jesus will come and comfort them through your hands and your love if you adopt them as one of your own.

 

Abortion is so neat and tidy; the belief is that no one will ever know. Yet those cries that were silenced and the cries of the orphans who still cry are heard by You. Forgive us, Lord, if we have made the mistake of rejecting either the born or unborn orphans of this world. Forgive us when we turn our hearts against those who make us feel uncomfortable. Forgive us when we turn away due to the pain of what we see, our own indifference, or lack of time, love, or money.

  

Father, please forgive me for even still I cry. Even though I know Your remarkable love, the pain still stings. But today, I would have been aborted. I would have never known You.

 

I pray for the orphans in faraway lands as well as those in the pew next to mine. I pray for the heartbroken and for those whose hearts beat for days too few to notice. I pray, Lord, for the empty wombs and the empty rooms and the broken hearts of the angels who have grieved. Let us be a people who comfort the brokenhearted and strengthen the weak and heavy-laden. I beg that I never stand before You and ask You when was it that I saw You naked, hungry, homeless, rejected, alone, or devastated. Amen.

 

I dedicate this post to Bob L. who believed in me and treated me as a son!