Spirit of adoption

My friend´s mum died because of alcohol abuse before she turned 20. My dad committed suicide when I was 22. Mum of my very close friend died because of breast cancer. Three of my good friends lost both of their parents before they turned 35. Other friend´s dad died because of brain tumour while she was still studying at the university, another friend´s dad died prematurely because of leucaemia. My cousin died in a car accident leaving two boys behind. And the list goes on and on. This is my generation. People in their thirties, who had to mature very quickly and overtook a role of their missing parent to a certain extent. We have been brutally robbed! There is an incredible pain in losing a person, who loved you right from the beginning, deeply and unconditionally.

Surely this is a part of the strategy of the evil one to weaken, discourage, depress and intimidate us. We cannot bring those loved ones back, but we determine how we react to this. Are we going to submit to this orphan spirit, or are we going to embrace the spirit of adoption promised us from the Lord? Many of my friends grounded their own families and are wonderful, loving parents, determined to give their children more than they have received.

Romans 8:15: The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again, rather the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ”Abba, Father.”

I could not ignore a trend rising up among young Christians over the last years. I heard lots of young people complaining, that they didn´t have spiritual mothers/fathers, mentors, that life has been unfair and hard on them, they are all about themselves. Most of them are over 35 years old!! That´s an orphan spirit! Please, don´t get me wrong, I love this family/mentoring concept, it´s profound and godly, but it doesn´t mean you are not responsible for your own spiritual growth, if you don´t have any person to mentor you! Shouldn´t we rather turn to our Father, who adopted us, He is more than able to teach us and guide us, so we can embrace His spirit of adoption?

Young people, please listen, with God´s help we can break the orphan spirit easily. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, look at Him, what He has done for you and then look around what you can do for the children around you. We can step out of this vicious circle! By being mamas and papas to younger Christians around us, we start living this lifestyle of adoption. We can, through God´s mercy, give them something that we ourselves didn´t receive! What a privilege! Will you stop searching first for blessings for yourself and start searching how to be a blessing for someone else? If you reach out to orphans it touches God´s heart deeply. Because by doing this you are reflecting what He has done for you. He has adopted you into His family, so you can extend His family further. He wants to have a BIG, BIG FAMILY! Everybode receives an invitation, no one is forgotten.

I remember being in my tent in Africa hearing His voice very clearly: „I am giving you a heart of mama.” My immediate reaction was, Lord, don´t You want to give me a husband first? He just smiled lovingly, knowing I will get it later. It doesn´t matter if you are married, with kids or without, single, rich or poor, young or old, well educated or just a simple person, living in a big house or in one room. It all doesn´t really matter, all that matters is the attitude of your heart. You can always be a mama or papa to somebody. You don´t have to be perfect and know everything. The Lord will always send you people your way, who need God´s love expressed through a person. And don´t worry, as you start giving more love, you will automatically receive more love from Him. Because He will not leave you alone and He will provide all that you need. And often as you step out, He sends you people who can mentor and parent you. It´s a divine exchange, that´s how the Kingdom works. You receive from Him, you give to others, so you  can receive even more! If you function like this, you will never dry out, you will never burn out!

Matt 28:20: „And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”