Not all, but a lot of foster children struggle with feeling
and knowing that they are loved and accepted. A life with so much hurt and rejection
makes it extremely difficult to trust. Trust was broken. Sometimes they act out
because of their lack of trust and because of all the pain. They misbehave,
break the rules, throw fits, and run away. They don’t know where they belong.
They long for a sense of legitimacy. It is a very complicated task for a loving
foster parent to convince a wounded streetwise child of their love. How they
handle the acting out will make or break the situation. If they are harsh and
unloving, they will lose the heart of the child forever. But if they love
unconditionally, there are times that the child’s heart will soften. The foster
parents who are able to communicate to the child the honor of being chosen,
will win the heart of the child. But ultimately, the choice belongs to the
child on whether to believe them or not.
Sometimes we act like a foster child with God. This world is
hard on us and we often feel hurt and rejected. If our authority figures have
broken our trust, then it’s hard to trust God. We tend to doubt God’s love and acceptance
so we test it. We misbehave, break the rules, throw fits, and run away. How God
handles our acting out makes or breaks the situation. The Good News is that our
loving Father God responds to us with grace. He made provision for us by
sending his son, Jesus, to pay the price. God loves us and is never harsh with
our brokenness. He gave us the honor of being chosen. He has given us our
legitimacy. We have been adopted/grafted in. We are bloodline legit—the blood
of Jesus pulses through our veins. We are God’s children. Now we have a choice
to make. Are we going to believe God or not?
So to answer the question: Does God have foster children?
The answer is, no. He has adopted us and brought us into full inheritance. Let
us whole-heartedly embrace what God extends to us.
I invite you to pray with me:
Thank you, Father God, that you chose me. I now choose to be
a part of your family through the precious blood of Jesus. I hand over to you
all of my hurt, rejection, fear and broken trust. I hand over to you the people
who hurt me and I release them from my judgment into yours. I invite you,
Jesus, into the hurt and broken places to bring healing. Thank you, Father God,
for your forgiveness, your kindness and your grace. Thank you for adopting me
and grafting me in. Thank you for making me your legitimate child. Thank you for
full inheritance. Thank you for your love and acceptance. I choose now to
believe you and to receive all of what you have for me. Amen.
Romans 5:8 (NLT) But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die
for us while we were still sinners.
Isaiah 42:3 (NLT) He
will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been
wronged.
Romans 2:4 (NLT) Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God
is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is
intended to turn you from your sin?
1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) But
you are not like that, for you are a chosen
people. You are royal priests, a
holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness
of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
God decided in advance to adopt
us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is
what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
Romans 11:17b (NLT)
…And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive
the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich
nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.
Ephesians 1:11 (NLT)
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us
in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
1 John 3:1a (NLT) See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his
children, and that is what we are!...