Day 34 – Issue 13

Be Still Know

John 14:18 NLT

‘No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you.’

Some years ago I travelled to Hong Kong and entered Whitehead Detention Centre, run by the British government to house Vietnamese boat people. A rather bland title for real flesh and blood, men and women, boys and girls who were attempting to escape Vietnam for a better life. This detention centre was made of concrete with a large number of Nissan huts spread across it. In each hut, three double beds were stacked upon each other, each mattress offering a home to a Vietnamese family.

Among this faceless army of asylum seekers were victims of real tragedy. Two such victims were brothers who’d lost their parents on the treacherous sea crossing and were being cared for by someone claiming to be their uncle. Their faces and dejected manner told a story of pain and hopelessness.

Through prayer and hard work, I set about seeing if they might not be adopted. Eventually, in answer to prayer, a Frenchman whose wife was Vietnamese emerged and agreed to explore adoption. Eventually, they successfully delivered these boys from a chaotic present and uncertain future by providing them with a home, and giving them the privilege of being parents once again.

Jesus’ promise to us is that we shall not be left as orphans. In a confusing world in which life can interrupt our dreams and plans with an unwelcome dose of reality, we are to remember that in Christ we share the same Father; that we are never abandoned and left to our own devices with decisions about our welfare given to another. We are adopted by God, made fellow heirs with Christ and invited to live a purposeful life in the family business.

At times it may be very difficult to generate any real sense of the reality of this promise, yet we are to comfort ourselves with the fact that Jesus is returning for us. Meantime, as Jesus is now in the presence of his Father once more, we can enter into God’s presence with confidence that we are known, welcome and provided for.

QUESTION: Make confession of those things that you have kept back from your Father, and also any fears and uncertainties that overshadow your life today.

PRAYER: Lord God, would your peace guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus freeing me from all anxiety and worry?