Devotionals

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Even if my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in.
Psalm 27:10

In working with adults who have severe mental illness, I see people in our program who haven’t seen their parents for a long time, or perhaps their parents have died. They may have no contact whatsoever with any family members. Yet, many of these individuals have deep faith in God, which they sometimes share with me. They are grateful to God and know instinctively that they are understood and loved by Him. They realize that God has been with them through their hard times, and they feel like they have purpose and dignity in God’s presence. How powerful it is for those who often are not understood and accepted in our society to be comforted by our Lord!

One of the people in our program said that she attended classes in her church to learn to help with a ministry. Her excitement about finishing the class and helping in her church was contagious. Within her church, she was not seen as a person with mental illness, but as a child of God who had gifts God wanted her to use. Thank God the church saw her potential and gave her a chance to serve Him!

This same gift is given to us. When we feel we are misunderstood or our family doesn’t support us, we know we can go to God and don’t even have to explain the situation. He knows what is going on and even knows how you feel about it. This agrees with the previous line in the Psalm, which can be paraphrased to say that God will never abandon us. This might be a good reflection for today. What a comforting and wonderful thought this is, in a world with many changes and different relationships that come and go. Despite our heartbreak, we can always depend on God.

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