Ministry Resources

Adoption Rescues Us from Abandonment

“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.” Joshua 1:5

One of my greatest fears has been that my husband would leave me. That I would be abandoned. To clarify, he has given me every reason, in word and deed, to believe the contrary so I guess he is stuck with me. But nevertheless, in the deepest parts of my heart, it is a fear I am surrendering to God. In these moments, the Father reassures me that as his daughter, I can trust in him to never leave me. I am stuck with him.

“No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you” (Josh. 1:5).

This was a promise made to Joshua, a leader of God’s people, and it is a promise made to us throughout Scripture. What a wonder to know, God will never fail us. He will never leave us or let us down. He will be found faithful and present in our lives. How do we know? What’s our proof?

Well, Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you” (Jn. 14:16). Who is the advocate? He is the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as our savior, the Holy Spirit takes up a permanent residence in our hearts. Being a daughter of God means we have the Holy Spirit who will never leave us.

The Holy Spirit is a constant companion and a continual connection to God. Serving like a counselor, the Holy Spirit is always cultivating our relationship with him. Always leading us toward him and his purposes in our lives. Like a conduit to the presence of the Almighty, the Holy Spirit helps us feel God, know God, and be changed by God.

The challenge is that it sometimes feels as if God has left us or failed us. But what we feel is often not true. If our feelings present a reality that is contrary to Scripture, we need to call our feelings into check.

We can help ourselves avoid this predicament by studying God’s word to know what is true (like you are doing now) and by cultivating our relationship with the Holy Spirit. This happens when we try to listen to and obey the leading of God’s Spirit. The big question is how do we know when God is speaking to us? Well, it doesn’t have a clear-cut answer but here is a start.

We often will not hear an audible voice speaking, but our hearts will feel an impression or our minds will have a thought. These thoughts and impressions seem inclined toward the things of God and never contradict his Word. Like a muscle, it needs to be exercised daily through the process of listening and obeying God in the big things and the little things.

Through the Holy Spirit, the presence of the living God is with you. Though you can’t see the wind, you can feel it. Though we can’t see God, we can feel him. As adopted daughters of God, his Holy Spirit takes up a permanent residence in us. It is a dark reality to know friends, parents, or spouses may abandon us; but we will never be abandoned by our Father God. We are given the gift of his presence in the Holy Spirit.

Father, you never let go and your love, your perfect love is working to cast out all our fear. Heal our wounds with your Word. Convince us of the reality that you go before us and are behind us (Ps. 139:5). That when we find ourselves in deep waters, the waves will not sweep over us (Is. 43:2). Love, Your Daughters

Visit ErinNicoleThompson.com for the Daughters Series videos and workbook.

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