The Defenders

Scripture:

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Psalm 68: 5-6

1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: 2 “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 82: 1-4

16 Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:16-17 

Devotional:

The will of our Lord and King is multifaceted, and as Kingdom Citizens, we are expected to know what His will is composed of and that we obey it. Perhaps you may have found yourself asking at some point, or on many occasions, “Lord, what is your will for my life?”, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”.

In order to receive the answer to these questions, let’s slightly rephrase them: “Lord, what do you require of my life?”, “Lord, what do you require for me to do?” The term require is defined as:

Verb - (of someone in authority) instruct or expect (someone) to do something

The one in authority is our Heavenly Father King, and the one expected to do something is His Citizens – You and me. The way to find out what is required is through reading the scriptures and prayer; these tools will help us to learn more of Him so that we can do good (Isaiah 1:17).

Let’s look at one facet of His will. When reviewing the verses provided in today’s devotional, you will see that there is a common word in all of them, Defend. Our Father and King is a Defender, as His children and Citizens, we possess his nature through the Holy Spirit, the governor of the Kingdom who lives on the inside of us, and it is vital that we show ourselves as Defenders too! The term defend is defined as:

Verb - resist an attack made on (someone or something); protect from harm or danger.

Widows, weak and fatherless, poor and oppressed, all need defenders, and we are the people for the job. Visit those who you know have lost their spouse, protect the young children who might be in negative situations/circumstances, for the poor and oppressed, do all within your power to uplift them! Start with your brothers and sisters in the Kingdom first, and then venture out into the world. Go out and Defend! 

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing the defend facet of your will. I ask that you show me who I should go to and will be the most effective with! Burden me with those that are on your heart so I may continue to show you as a defender in the earth. I love and thank you, Amen.