I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. John 14:18
I’ve often wondered if these words, spoken by Jesus to His disciples, confused them. He was their Lord. They were His friends so why refer to them as orphans? The older I get, I don’t believe they were confused. They had learned to depend on Him for everything. He calmed the storms at sea. He made food materialize out of nothing. He rebuked the demonic and gave the dark spiritual world orders and parameters. The thought of life without Him must have stirred up a panic inside their group. What would they do now? Who were they without Jesus? How would they care for themselves without the spiritual power to do the miraculous when necessary? They did not know, until this promise, that He would come to them in another form and put that same kingdom power within them.
They battled orphan-like feelings just like we do when we feel like Jesus isn’t there to take care of us, whenever we feel like He’s distant. Let’s jump into some definitions.
An Orphan~ A child whose parents are dead and who is without care protection.
An Orphanage~ A residential place where orphans live. They may have house parents in the facility but no child calls them Mommy and Daddy, because they’re not their real parents.
A Spiritual Orphan~ Someone who feels alone, trying to get their needs met the best way they can, not knowing how to receive the love and care of their Heavenly Father.
The Spiritual Orphanage~ Earth. Spiritual orphans live dependent on the people of earth and the things earth offers.
As you read the definition of a spiritual orphan and how that person forages off the land, does that describe your life? Is there someone whose love you crave, whose love you are convinced you can’t live without? Do you have a parent who, as of yet, has not expressed that they love you and are proud of you? Perhaps the amount of their praise is stingy compared to how they relate to your other siblings. I know many adults who are visiting assisted living facilities, daily, trying to do whatever they have to do to get their parents to say they love them. Listen, human beings are broken cisterns which hold no water. By looking to the people of Earth, we relegate ourselves to an orphan’s plight which never ends well.
Monday, I will begin with the first of ten orphan profiles. Would you ask God to prepare your heart this weekend? Without His Holy Spirit, we will not see ourselves. We won’t recognize our great need. We will be the orphan who is defensive and refuses to acknowledge he wants life any differently. May it not be! Perfect love and care is yours, in God, and within reach. Your Father is asking you to put your arms down and stop fighting. Begin now in prayer.
For all the scriptures I’ve known but felt little, I’m asking Your Holy Spirit to prepare to write them on my heart. Blow over my barren landscape. Amen
Originally published Tuesday, 05 February 2019.
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