Stepping into the Darkness
Our world is broken.
Five minutes of watching the evening news or a couple of clicks on any screen and it’s evident. The effects of the brokenness are everywhere.
When we hear about the 153,000,000 orphans around the world the unfairness grabs our heart. These are children who are helpless to change their circumstances, caught in systems that offer them no future and no hope.
We want to fix it.
But God hasn’t asked us to fix the brokenness. He asks us to step into it.
God knows the world is broken, and moment by moment He is redeeming it. He is not wringing His hands in worry. He is not wondering how to work in spite of the brokenness of our world. He plans to work through the brokenness in amazing ways.
Stepping into the brokenness begins with seeing the heart of God for the helpless. Over the next 7 days, the following devotions and Scripture references will give us a glimpse of His view of their situation, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to take part in His plan to bring the beauty of redemption in the darkest places.
♥ ♥ Day 1 ♥ ♥
God’s Heart for the Helpless
In Scripture, a description of the plight of the helpless is often coupled with praise that God is on His throne, that His reign is everlasting, that He is sovereign.
But we have questions: If God is in control, why are there children without fathers, why are there widows who need defending?
Does being sovereign mean that God is going to do whatever He wants? Whatever He ordains?
Most certainly.
However, does it mean we have no responsibility, and even worse, no impact on the world around us?
Not at all.
Scripture is clear. While God is absolutely sovereign over all things, including the sorrows and heartaches of this broken world, Scripture is equally clear regarding His love and care for the needy and the helpless.
Since the beginning of time He has been weaving a story of redemption. A story of belonging, a story of adoption, a story of family.
He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve before the fall, He went looking for them while they hid. And He provided a way for us to step back into relationship with Him through Jesus.
Throughout the Old Testament, His desire for His people to be in relationship with Him is clearly seen. Over and over He says, “I will be their God and they will be My people.”
Through His sovereignty, He is weaving beauty through the brokenness by showing us our need for Him. In His patience and kindness, He gently calls us back into relationship with Him, exactly what we were made for, precisely where we belong.
God’s heart has always been for the helpless, because once sin entered the world, every person became helpless, separated from God. And in His mercy, God reached out and rescued us through Jesus. Even now, He works through the muck and brokenness of our lives to bring beauty.
We aren’t so far removed from the orphan.
His end goal for His people can be seen in Revelation 22:4, They will see His face. As God sovereignly works in the world, He has that in mind.
As you read the verses below, list the words that describe God and His care for the helpless.
Job 42:2 Psalm 146
Psalm 68:4-6, 19-20, 32-35 Psalm 147:1-11
Psalm 10:13-14 Ephesians 3:20
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This is the Introduction & Day 1 The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.
The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for the helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for orphans.
In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans on November 11, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.
I am looking forward to your responses, to having real conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.
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