As Orphans

RestoringVoice

April 22

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

As we read this Scripture in Bible Study Sunday, I thought about what it means to be an orphan. Both parents have died. I recently was reading in the Old Testament how the farmers were told to leave the remnants for the aliens, orphans and widows to gather. God made provision for those that had no one.

"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand. Deuteronomy 24:19

I believe that Jesus was warning the disciples that He was not leaving them as orphans. He was not expecting them to gather scraps. He would still provide for them through Holy Spirit, through His Spirit He would come back to them. He was providing them comfort before they even knew they would need it.

I know that it brought me comfort. I still remember sitting down in the chair in the sanctuary. I was mourning the loss of my mother and it dawned on me in that moment, "I am an orphan." It didn't matter that I was almost forty years old, I felt like a little child abandoned and alone in that moment.

When the song "No Longer Slaves" came out and I heard our church worship team sing it during a worship service. I am sure we had sang it before, but as I sang out "I am a child of God." His comfort just flooded my soul because I am not an orphan, I am a child of God. There is peace in knowing I will never be an orphan. Yes my earthly parents have died, but I have a heavenly Father that still provides for me in every way.

God does not leave us as orphans. Jesus gave this comfort to His disciples before His death. We have the same promise today. We have Holy Spirit within us to guide us and help us throughout our lives.