Reaching Out and Fighting Doubt

If God’s vision for the helpless includes you and me, where do we even begin?

Let’s start with those doubting thoughts niggling away in your mind. I know, I had them too.  But God placed a child  and her adoptive process right in front of me.  I wanted to be involved, and God wanted me to wade through these doubts and watch Him provide.

Doubt #1:  If I can’t solve the problem, why even try?  I wrote about wrestling with this question in the post Stretching Out a Hand of Relief. 

Doubt #2:  It’s such a big problem. 153 millions orphans! What can one person do to make a difference? Not much on their  own.  But one person can join with others who are reaching out by:

Supporting Organizations Reaching Out To Orphans & Children in Difficult Situations

Heritage Ukraine – Odessa, Ukraine

Read more about the amazing ministry of Heritage Ukraine in the post

Heritage Ukraine: A Light in Dark Places

Hispanola Mountain Ministries – Haiti and the Dominican Republic

French Camp Academy – French Camp, MS

Sponsoring Children in Difficult Situations

Hope for the Fatherless– Ethiopia

Compassion International

Cross Mountain Mission Legacy Centers – Nicaragua

Providing funding for homes for orphans who are too old to live in the orphanage.

Orphan Mission Transition Homes – Ukraine

Jeremiah’s Hope – Hope Market

Considering adoption

 Walking beside a family in the adoption process.

  The adoption process is filled with mountains of paperwork, moments of doubt, and uncertainty that all will work out. An adoptive family needs a network of friends who will pray for them, encourage them, and help them raise the necessary finances.

This post tells the story of an adoption process our family was incredibly blessed to be a part of:  FIshes, Loaves, and Cookie Dough

 

Suffering & God’s Sovereignty

♥ ♥ Day 6 ♥ ♥

 

God’s view of suffering

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  

 

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

In His Sovereignty, God gave this man the condition of blindness at birth. He was unable to change his situation without God’s direct intervention.

In the suffering we see and experience, we don’t have Jesus standing there, explaining the purpose for the suffering.  In fact, in the moment, it is very hard to see how suffering can bring God glory.

 In Growing Your Faith, Jerry Bridges sums up three truths God’s Word teaches us about God and our adversities in this way:

God is completely sovereign. God is infinite in wisdom. God is perfect in love.  God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best. And in His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.

These assurances can change the way we react to suffering. They give us the ability to look for evidence of God working in the darkness. They give us confidence to pray God’s words back to Him.

We can respectfully say, “Your Word says that You are the helper of the fatherless. It says that You have not forsaken the needy.” And we can pray for God to act.

In His Sovereignty He places each of us right where we are.

In His Sovereignty He uses suffering in our stories to bring us to Himself.

What is God’s view of suffering? What is His goal?

Romans 8:28

Psalm 40:1-3

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Romans 5:1-11

James 1:2-4

1 Peter 1:3-7

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This is Day 6 of The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.

The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for the  helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for them.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.

I am looking forward to your responses, to having real  conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.

If you would like to receive these posts directly to your inbox, subscribe to my mailing list on the sidebar. 

 

 

 

Hearts that Hunger by Design

♥ ♥ Day 5 ♥ ♥

Hearts that Hunger By Design

At the core of our being is a desire to be connected, to be wanted, to be known. It is part of who we are because God put it there.

Sin entered the world and complicated things. Sin caused a breach in the close relationship God, Adam, and Eve shared. And today, our hearts yearn for that closeness.

People spend their lifetime searching for something to fulfill this need. But the only way it can be truly fulfilled is by the One who created us to enjoy that blessing. The One who formed our hearts is the only One who can fully answer its cry.

Psalm 65:5 describes God as the hope of all the ends of the earth. The word used for hope in this verse conveys the idea of a refuge, a safe place.

Being in relationship with God has blessings. In God’s family, we have a Redeemer (Proverbs 23:10-11). We have God’s commitment to save (Psalm 31:1). We have a refuge (Psalm 9:9-10).

The greatest need of the helpless is the same as ours – a relationship with God.

What does God do on behalf of those who are His? 

Psalm 31:19

Psalm 18:1-19, 25-35

Psalm 107:6

Psalm 33:13-15

Psalm 72:12-14

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Isaiah 43:1-4

Isaiah 41:10

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This is Day 5 of The Hope of the Helpless, a 7-day devotional I wrote as a guide for praying for orphans.

The Hope of the Helpless walks us through God’s heart for the  helpless, His vision for their future, and His gracious invitation to join Him in caring for them.

In honor of the International Day of Prayer for Orphans, I am posting a devotional from The Hope of the Helpless each day this week.

I am looking forward to your responses, to having real  conversations about orphan care, and to talking through your questions.

If you would like to receive these posts directly to your inbox, subscribe to my mailing list on the sidebar. 

 

Finding Joy in Reaching Out

Today’ s post was meant to  be a Fearless Friday post, with a focus on fighting for hope on behalf of others, or as the page on my blog says, Fighting For Those Who Can’t.

Whenever I say that phrase, I think of a person who is stuck, unable to change their situation or circumstances without someone stepping in to help. People without the physical or emotional ability or means to fight for hope on their own.

Sometimes God places these people right in our path. He isn’t hindered by geographical location, so the people He places in our path could  be  literally on the other side of the world.

The Lord placed the children of Galette Chambon in my Aunt Roxie’s path. It didn’t matter that they were in Haiti and she was in Mississippi.  God gave her the courage to step out of her comfort zone, and to step into the brokenness of a  community in need.

I am so excited to have her as a guest today.

So here is our Fearless Friday post….but on a  Monday.

 

Finding Joy in  Reaching Out

by Roxie Ewing

In 2015 I was blessed with the opportunity to go on my first mission trip to Haiti. I will be honest. That first night in Galette Chambon  I wondered, What have I gotten myself into? I left a week later with a God-given heart for the people of Haiti and its children.

On my second trip we were performing a skit about Jesus healing the blind man for a group of orphan children. A two year old boy named Davinski fell asleep on the bench and I had the joy of holding him while the older children colored a picture of Jesus and the blind man.

I discovered that there is no language barrier in a smile, hand holding, hugs, or with the smallest ones, holding them in your arms.

When I went to Haiti on my first trip, I knew I had to do something.

I have a bed to sleep on, they have dirt floors.

We have water in the tap. They take a bucket to a well and haul it back on their head.

We have grocery stores. Food is scarce in Haiti..

A job with a paycheck? None in Haiti.

But what could I do?

I prayed about it, and the Lord provided the money to sponsor a child through But God Ministries.  For  $37 a month or $440 a year sponsored children can go to school. They get uniforms, books, paid tuition, and a hot meal every day, which may be the only meal they get that day. When a child is sponsored, there  is a domino effect. Teachers have jobs and the ladies that cook have jobs also.

The first child I sponsored was Jackson, a shy 15 year old young man. I met him in 2016. This past year I was told that he dropped out  of school due to his parents moving.

I now sponsor a 10 year old little girl named Modelaine.

I met her this past August on my third trip.  I send her a small  package twice a year with items like clothes, gum, candy, a doll, and pencils. I located a Haitian Creole Bible so I was able to send her one of those as well.

 

Words cannot express the joy I feel each morning when I sit at my desk and look at her picture or when I send her a package. She is in my thoughts and prayers daily. With my help, she can get an education and become what God wants her to be.

God gave me something  to do that is life-changing for her.

Will I  go back in 2019? Yes! Because in Mathew 28:19-20, Jesus said go!

If you are interested in finding  out more about sponsoring a child, visit            But God Ministries  at butgodministries.com

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What I love  about this is that Modelaine.is helpless to change her situation, but God is using my Aunt Roxie in a behind-the-scenes way to provide for her needs.

When It’s Hard To Understand

Does your fight for hope involve unanswered prayers? Do you feel that God is stone cold silent on the subject closest to your heart?

Yeah, me too.

And that’s why I love this song. The lyrics don’t say “if”, they say “when”, because we  have times when we don’t understand what God is doing. We have broken parts in our lives that need mending. We have loved ones drowning in addiction. We are lost in our own addictions.

We are a broken mess AND God is working.

He redeems, restores, rebuilds. We can trust Him.

When You don’t move the mountains I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers as I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in You!

 

Encouragement on the Dark Days

One of the hope warriors in my life pointed me toward this song. She doesn’t think of herself as a hope warrior, but I’ve watched her dig her heels in and fight hard for hope during the past seven years. I’ve seen her hold on to the hope that God is working, no matter how overwhelming the darkness feels.

Seven years ago my friend’s mother shut down mentally, emotionally, and physically. It has been an emotional journey for my sweet friend, watching her mother become a shell of the person she once was.

Then, 6 years into the journey, my friend’s father unexpectedly passed away.

Still she fought for hope. And to this day, she fights. She is a hope warrior.

It had been an extremely difficult day with her mother when this song came on the radio. The words of this song reminded her that she is not alone, that this journey isn’t over yet. This song reminded her to hold on because the Lord isn’t finished with her mom yet. Or with her.

I hope this song will encourage you, dear friend, in your journey. If it brings someone to mind, please share it with them. They might need these life-giving words today.

Keep On Fighting

If your fight for hope isn’t looking like you thought it would, if you feel discouraged about your journey, if you just want to sit down and give up, this song is for you today.

Keep on fighting – Out of the dark into the light – It’s not over

Hope is rising – Never give in – Never give up – It’s not over