The other day I saw an ultrasound of a baby in his mama’s belly immediately after he’d been given a lethal injection. The pain on his little face was unbearable…I closed my phone immediately & cried. “Oh, Lord, forgive me”,
Many know that abortion is part of my story of sin. It’s an awful reality to accept especially in light of the images we can now see in the womb. I let the life God gave, die. It was a selfish choice that could’ve been avoided by other choices like abstinence, contraception, adoption or even parenthood. I don’t think the ache in my heart, especially on the heals of Mother’s Day, will ever quite subside.
Lamentations 2:19 tells us to pour out our hearts like water before the Lord on behalf of our children. That same visual is used in 1 Samuel 7. Israel abandoned God for the gods of surrounding nations & yet they mourn because it seemed that the Lord abandoned them.
Samuel corrects them, saying, “If you’re really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods, determine to obey Him & he’ll rescue you.”
They toss their idols, worship Him only & then gather “in a great assembly to draw water from a well & pour it out like water before the Lord.”
Y’all, something is seriously wrong when a nation is offended by everything but sin…I mean, imagine being upset that babies will LIVE?
It’s HIGH tome we confess & like the Israelites, testify to the filth of our nation, letting our eyes gush forth like water in desperate need of forgiveness.
That poured out water, spilled out on the ground, could not be gathered. it soaked into the soil, seemingly wasted, but not. It was a visual of their need of internal washing by the grace & Spirit of God!
They didn’t cleanse their bodies, they cleansed their hearts & fasted as they confessed their sin…& guess what? He followed their confession with a mighty deliverance from the tyranny of the Philistines!
Oh Father, You say if we turn from our wicked ways, humble ourselves, pray & seek only Your face, that You’d give us grace & heal our land. So here we are with poured our hearts, coming into agreement with our need to turn back to You. We need You, Lord! Come have your way!
1 SAMUEL 5:1-7:17
JOHN 6:1-21
PSALM 106:13-31
PROVERBS 14:32-33