I have been thinking a lot lately about orphans. It’s not something new for me but it has been fresh on my mind. My husband and I, as well as some of my children, have been working with orphans in Honduras since 2002 as participants of short-term mission trips. Now, the boys and girls that we started working with are all young adults on their own and there is a totally new batch of beautiful children. We try to make it down every year and we remain in touch mostly through Facebook with those active young adults. They have become our extended family.
The Lord placed the plight of orphans heavy on my heart.
I was reading through Isaiah, chapter 1 when verses 16 and 17 really jumped out at me and I found myself stuck there for the remainder of the evening.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
I don’t think you can read this passage without a million thoughts rolling through your mind. Questions like what does this look like in today’s culture? What is justice? How do I make this command come about in my life? How do you correct oppression? What are my personal responsibilities before the Lord?
Millions of thoughts ran through my mind that evening. Like the importance of actively participating in foster care and adoption here in the United States. The importance of spending time with children whose parents are working and are left unattended at home in your very neighborhood. How important it is to participate in child sponsorship programs and the profound effect of time spent in prayer for orphans. How about going into the full-time gospel work of serving in an orphanage? Short-term mission work overseas?
The truth is we are all required to tend to the needs of orphans as believers in Jesus Christ. It is a fact…really, no one can argue it away and who would want to anyway?
Scripture is filled with God’s Commands about orphans.
James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
As the evening went on and I was in prayer for what my role might look like at this stage of my life, things began to become clear. I realized that I can make a difference in the lives of orphans no matter what situation in life I am in! Let me share with you the 3 ways God has shown me how I can make a difference in the world for orphans while I am trying to get healthy.
3 Ways To Support Orphans The Biblical Way
Prayer
Blog
Sponsorship
Janelle you are right. Blogging is a powerful thing you can do. I’ve had similar prayerful thoughts lately and you are the first person that I’ve been able to discuss them with…besides my husband. I don’t have answers yet, but I know that praying is where I need to start.
Thanks Christina…it sounds like God is on the move! I am excited to see where it all leads and I know it will be good!
Wow. I love this. I want/need to do more.
Thank you for your kind words Brittany! I really appreciate your support and encouragement!
Thank you for this wonderfully inspiring post!
You are so very welcome, Francina!