Saturday Devotional,,,,Not Wanted

                               ...Don't let the little voices in your ear lie to you!

I never knew as a child what it felt like to be wanted by my parents. Really wanted. Like when their eyes light up when they see you, and they look forward to seeing you when they get home from work. Or when your Mom takes you shopping and buys you pretty clothes and you laugh and do silly things together. Girly things.

My home was a very unhappy home. From the outside it looked like were a perfect family, nice home, all dressed up with a wholesome stance. When my Dad was alive he worked a lot, and when he got home, he usually had already started drinking. If we walked to heavy he complained. If we got in his way he complained. He would have violent rages and threaten us with horrible threats.  If we upset him in any way, we were told that we were a burden or unwanted, and that the drinking was our fault.  We were told that he never wanted kids. My Mom was so focused on trying to make my dad happy that she barely noticed us. The only time she paid attention to us was when it was time to go to church.

Feeling wanted? No. Not ever. So, I had mixed ideas about God. I felt that when I prayed to Him I was a burden. Why would He want to hear my prayers? Surely, I thought He had better things to do than to listen to me. I also felt that He had already given up on me .I felt forsaken.

I broke down on the highway one time, and when I called my Dad to see if could come get me he said no that he couldn't, because he it was too late. He was already in bed. If my own Dad felt that way, I thought that God was the probably the same. Years later, after I had started my pursuit God's heart, I came across a scripture that spoke to my hurt.

                                                 It said …
                                         "When my father and my mother forsake me,

Then the Lord will take care of me."

(Psalm 27:10)

In the Bible, we read about a slave woman named Hagar. We see how much she suffered and how many tears she had spent in loneliness. She was discarded by her own family. Our Lord is One who commands light to shine out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6). This is something very true. Even if your parents forsake you, my friend, the Lord will accept you.

                                 The Holy Scripture says,

"Can a woman forget her nursing child,

and not have compassion on the son of her womb?

Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you."

(Isaiah 49:15)

"A Father of the fatherless,

a Defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families;

He brings out those who are bound into prosperity." 

(Psalm 68:5-6)

When we have a God who grants us such great blessings, why should we worry?

Hagar sat in loneliness, worried about her future. She saw darkness all around. She lost hope. Those who loved her had forsaken her altogether, and her child was about to die. She had none to help her and comfort her, and she did not know where she could go. She thought that she had come to the end of her life.

Very often we also become discouraged like Hagar. We fear and tremble saying, "Alas, there is no one to love and comfort me. Even my parents and relatives poke fun at me. I wonder what is going to happen next in my life." But our Lord says, "My dear child, I came to grant you a bright future to replace the dark life you lived in the past."

My dear friend, do not grieve. Do not be disheartened. The Lord assures you and me...

"From this day, I will bless you"
(Haggai 2:19)

He will surely bless you as He has promised.

I had lost hope until I saw the promise God gave me that He would not forsake me written in the Bible. He also promised me that all of my needs would be met without fail. It was not because He had to. It was because He loved me, and I was his child. I belonged to Him, and He would protect me with a bond of love. I had never felt that kind of love until I knew Jesus. It is something that I don't ever want to let go of.

I won’t have to worry, because He is never going to let go of me. The same is true for me. We are WANTED by God.

Written by

Angie Madison