As a pastor, I have seen divorce tear families apart and I have ached with the abused. I’ve seen close friends commit betrayal or turn their backs on each other. These broken relationships leave many feeling abandoned and alone. So, how can the church compassionately care for the unloved, orphaned, betrayed, and abused?
David models the way forward in Psalm 27, for although his enemies seek to ruin him he will not be afraid. Instead, he turns his face toward heaven to wait for the God who waits for him: “My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in” (v. 10). Then, as David counsels his hurting soul, he shows us how to minister effectively to others. Here are two truths and a lie for those abandoned by loved ones.
Truth: God Protects You With His Presence (vv. 1–6)
Someone who has been abandoned by their loved ones may often feel that God has left them too. Thus, David begins by confidently declaring, “The LORD is my light and my salvation, . . . the stronghold of my life” (v. 1). As our Light, God offers protection like a campfire in the wilderness
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