Orphan Behavior
If there is one thing all of mankind has in common, I believe, it is this:
Our hearts break for the fatherless no matter where you live in this world.
The Father has a special fondness for orphans and widows simply because they are the most vulnerable among us. Google it. There are a ton of verses.
Before any of us found Jesus, we were all orphans. The Israelites wandered the desert as orphans, grumbling because they wanted a king to free them from their earthly oppression. God had to keep reminding them that HE was their Father and to trust their hearts to Him, not their circumstances. (Cue the parting of the Red Sea.)
The Father’s heart breaks for us when He sees us wandering through life trying to solve our own problems and grumbling at Him when things don’t change or aren’t fixed the way we want them. Doesn’t this view of God just make Him the ultimate Problem Solver?
“Hey God: My life sucks. You need to fix this. You
need to fix that. Make my life happy. That’s your job!
Why would you allow me to have pain and suffering?
You’re supposed to keep me happy all the days of my
life!”
In my head, I know it’s not true. But when my life gets overwhelming and the same prayers keep going up for weeks, months and even years and NOTHING is changing?, I find myself getting angry at God. My heart can’t take it any more. I need relief. I need to see my circumstances change so my heart will be at peace. But sometimes that never happens.
I learned recently in a counseling session that I have a tendency to resort to “orphan behavior.” I’m human. We all do it. It can be hard to recognize at times. For me it looks like this:
I’m impatient and I get ahead of God.
In my previous blog post, “Bootstrap Mentality,” I mentioned that “do-it-yourself” thinking which runs deeply inside of me. An orphan who lives on the streets has no choice but to look for his/her own food, water, and shelter. He/she has learned to “solve their own problems” because no one is looking out for them.
I do that . . . ALL. THE. TIME. Oh I can wait on God, just like the Bible teaches. I’ve been known to wait as long as 10-15 minutes before making a decision based on fear, worry or anxiety because God was taking too long. Sometimes, when it was about finding the next job, I’ve been known to wait a week or a month and taken the first position that was offered to me so I could ease my fear and worry about finances.
I’ll be honest with you. I still struggle with my orphan behavior. I have found I need to stop and pause and ask myself, “What is the Truth?”, and “What lie is being whispered in my ear by the father of lies?”
The lie: That I am an orphan and do I really believe the Father will take care of . . .(fill in the blank)?
The Truth: The Father has this. Maybe not the way we want it, but He has been to this exact moment in our lives before we were ever born! (Psalm 139:16). How can I not trust His heart?
Do this: Get a journal out and find some time to sit and reflect on where you are most prone to orphan behavior. Take that to the Father and confess it. Ask him to give you a steadfast heart to trust in His goodness.
Be blessed today, Beloved Son and Beloved Daughter! You are not alone. You are not an orphan anymore. The Father delights in you every day. You are His favorite child! We just need to live out of that identity. That’s why BRINGING KINGDOM is here. Email me at talk@bringing.kingdom.org and let’s have a conversation.
Read more on this subject here.
