The root of an uncomforted heart is an orphan heart. By its very definition, an orphan is a loner, striving to find a place in the world and consequently becoming self-centred and self-reliant. An uncomfortable existence!
“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you” (John 14:18 NIV) “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you” (KJV) During the last meal Jesus had with his disciples he promises to send the Holy Spirit as ‘another Comforter’, someone who will be with us forever and who will constantly remind us that we are not orphans but sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. The life of an orphan is very uncomfortable. We see a very clear indication of this in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:9-12) where, following the killing of Abel, Cain is told that he’ll be a ‘restless wanderer on the face of the earth’. That’s a tragic consequence: no place to call home, no security, no provision and no identity. Sadly that describes many of us. We feel a continual restlessness in our heart which leads to us striving for position and recognition. We are, as Jesus says, without comfort. He knows our true identity as sons and daughters and he promises he won’t leave us but will come and comfort us through the Holy Spirit pouring the Father’s comforting love into our hearts. As we are comforted, the ‘Abba’ cry rises in our heart and we know that we are no longer orphans but children of God. Our comforted heart finds its place of safety and belonging. I hope and pray this can become our daily reality.
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When Moses asked to see the Lord's glory he had a revelation of the nature and character of God. The Psalmist summarises it for us:
Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. (Psalm 103: 2-5,8 NIV) Sometimes, it can be very good for us to go to these familiar scriptures and remind ourselves of who God is and what he is able to do for us. I read a book, many years ago, called "Praying the Scriptures" which encouraged us to take a familiar passage and then begin to pray through it and call it into being in our own lives. It's a very helpful thing for us to do. What does scripture say and what is it saying to us, today. It's all too easy to lose sight of the goodness of the Lord, particularly when we are weighed down with burdens and the cares of life. They easily overwhelm us and we take our eyes off him. Like Peter, as he began to walk on water, when we take our eyes off him we begin to sink. Today, in whatever you are facing can I encourage you to take hold of the stedfast love of the Lord. It's a love that never lets us go, it never fails us and it always lifts us up as we feel we are sinking. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children (Ps 103:17) As we look around we see so many people in need, displaced in human suffering. May we never become immune to the poor, after all when we look into our own heart we, too, are poor and needy.
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. (Galatians 2:10) The poor you will always have with you (Matthew 26:11) Hear me, LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. (Psalm 86:1) It's easy to be overwhelmed by the poverty in the world and we ask ourselves what can we do that will make a difference. Particularly at the moment there are millions of people in real need or who are suffering deeply. The needs are huge and almost impossible to satisfy. Yet at times of natural or man-made disaster I am always amazed at the generosity of others. Those, often with little themselves, reach out to help others in greater need, Let us not forget the poor. They are all around us: in our streets, in our communities, looking for us to be their safe haven. How can we reach out to help them? After all, let us never forget that we, too, are poor and needy. Love reached down and rescued us, it redeemed us and brought us home. It's all too easy for us to love with conditions! We love and want something back or we will only love once certain previous offences have been dealt with. That's not the way we are loved by the Father.
Love does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Corinthians 13: 5-6 NIV) There is no score sheet so far as the Father is concerned. There is no notebook with a list of all the wrongs we've committed or all the things we've left undone. It's a clean sheet. When we keep a list of offences (whether in our mind or written down) it's easy to come back and dwell on them. That can lead to bitterness or anger which festers in us, only producing bad fruit. The Father's love constantly looks outward: it looks at us, sees the good in us and draws us into the truth. It's that truth which sets us free. It's the truth of our identity - that we are sons and daughters. As we are filled with this everlasting love we will be transformed and begin to reflect the love we have received. We can only be a loving people once we have become a loved people. It's amazing to think that we are loved with an everlasting love. One that began before the creation of the world and one that will run through all of eternity.
“At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favour in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:1-3 NIV) What is this love like? In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul gives us a glimpse of what the Father's love is like. Of course, when we read this we try and measure love by our human standards. We can't grasp love with our mind, we need to receive it in our heart. When we try and measure it we will inevitably limit it to the extent of our own understanding. It is, however, limitless. His love is infinitely patient. Our humanity has limits, our patience runs out or is stretched (and we all have a limit beyond which we don't want to be stretched). He constantly perseveres for us as his love "always protects, always trusts and always hopes" (verse 7). He can be infinitely patient because he is infinitely kind. Kindness is not an 'on the surface reaction' it has depth. It sees a need and is prepared to take action; it goes beyond false cheer as we have a loving Father who wants to bring change in our lives. Not a change that seeks to condemn but one seeking our good. Kindness will always seek to do something. Our Father is immeasurably kind as he draws us into a transformation whereby we are made more like his son, Jesus. |
Weekly SignpostA Father to YOU is a signpost to the heart of the Perfect Father. When we became Christians we were given the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Sadly, many of us fail to take up that right and instead continue to live as slaves or orphans. But our true destiny is being sons and daughters who have a permanent place in the Father's family. This blog is an encouragement to help you know who God really is and who you really are. Click here to subscribe. |