a ministry of First Baptist Church, Ringwood

Oklahoma Hearts For Adoption

 

Devotions

 

An Invitation to Know God

By Steven Curtis Chapman

 will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

John 14:18

May God sweetly speak to your heart through the

devotions shared on this page.

 

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.  Rom 10:17

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Jas 1:22

 

The first series of devotions will look at God’s heart for adoption. 

What does He say about it?

It wasn't until our second adoption that I understood what God was doing with my family through adoption. I walked into church on September 1, 2002, wholeheartedly convinced that we were not going to adopt a second time. During that service, our good friends, the Coley family, who have four biological and five adopted children, were brought up on stage for the dedication of their latest adopted child, a boy with special needs.

What happened next was almost as if God lifted my chin, and as clearly as I've ever heard Him speak to my heart, He said, "I've heard you sing the song 'Open the Eyes of My Heart', and I've heard you pray, 'I really want to know You and experience You.' I know you mean that." Then He showed me this family on stage, and He said, "There it is; that's my heart. That's your story; that's my story. This is a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven. There it is, in front of you."

And it was this family with whom we've walked through some of the darkest parts of adoption. We've gone with them into treatment centers; we've shed tears together. They knew exactly what they were getting into, but still, here they were, saying, "This is what God has called us to do. We know it's messy; we know it's uncomfortable, and it's going to turn our lives upside down, but this is God's heart."Yet God didn't stop there. He said, "I delight in setting the lonely in families, so I'm going to keep pouring out my love for orphans, and I'm looking for hearts to pour it into. I'm looking for people who really want to do what I'm doing."

He didn't say, "If you don't do this, I'm going to be disappointed with you." Instead, it's as if, as a Dad, God put His arm around me and said, "You don't have to do this, but I'm inviting you in, because I want you to know Me, and I want our relationship to go deeper. If you really want to see Me show up, I want to take you on another adventure."

So I broke the news to my family and told them, "I think God wants us to bring another child to stand under the waterfall of grace." I just pictured God pouring out His grace, inviting us to bring another child to stand under it. God was saying, "I'm going to bring them into my family, but I want to invite you to be a part of that. I'm going to glorify myself through this."

That's why there are so many waiting children; those are opportunities for God to show up and reveal His glory. They are each an invitation from God's heart, saying, "Come and know Me. And I will make myself known through you, members of my body, the church, as you experience the miracle of adoption."

Am I willing to follow God wherever He may lead so that I might more fully know Him and make Him known?

 

Copied with permission from Shaohannah’s Hope.

Truth to ponder:

adoption is the

visible gospel.

The Parallel

 

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

 

Do you know how many times the Bible speaks to the fatherless, the orphan and adoption?  God refers to us as orphans and promises not to leave us as such, but rather adopt us as His children.  He commands us to care for the needy.  Who could be more in need than a fatherless child?  We had completed our first adoption before I really ‘got it.’  My husband and I had often asked ourselves why God would speak adoption into our hearts when we felt our family was complete.  We realized that for us, it wasn’t so much about growing our family as it was God bringing the Gospel to life – a visible picture of our adoption into His family.  When we began reflecting on the first seeds of adoption, the hills and valleys (affectionately referred to as the emotional roller coaster), to the post-placement adjustment, it was as if He were painting a visible picture of the Scriptures.  Before we were even born, He had a plan for our lives.  Even when we are unlovable and rebellious, He loves us and desires to Father us.  We experienced this in real time as our 15 month old daughter rejected us, and God gave us the grace to love her unconditionally, the patience to persevere through her months of night terrors, and the joy to celebrate her finally trusting and accepting our love.  It may have taken us longer to recognize the parallel than He intended, but once we did, we knew adoption is His heart, and if He is willing to invite us on this miraculous journey, He will overcome all obstacles, whether real or imagined.

 

Lord, please give me the stillness to listen when You speak, the desire to act upon what you ask and the faith to trust that You have the details already worked out.

~ Connie

 

                                                                                                                                                                          8/26/08