Living psalm 82:3

Psalm 82:3 “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute”.

Upon reading this verse, I ask myself, how often do I actually do this? Am I always looking out to find and help people who are poor, without family or oppressed?

It is often all too easy to forget that people live in these circumstances all over the world, including Australia. I do not mean to forget or neglect people and it certainly is not a matter of not caring, but rather, in my own life, I find myself sheltered from seeing this reality. But that is no excuse, because I have seen people living in these circumstances and if I open my eyes more, I can see people to help everywhere.

At the end of last year, Ryan and I traveled to the Philippines as we had the privilege of staying and helping at Safe Haven. This was our fourth visit to the Philippines and so many of our experiences were not new to us. We knew about the traffic, the pollution, the poverty; but one thing we were not used to was living with 13 children!

We felt honored to be able to share in experiences with our new Filipino family such as going to church, celebrating Christmas, seeing Christmas lights, going to the local swimming pool, sharing meals and playing games. We were also able to put Psalm 82:3 into practice in a very practical way.

Most of the children in Safe Haven are living there because they are poor or orphaned or have been oppressed in some way or another in their young lifetimes. We are so thankful to Dave, Cherie, Kristyn, Ali and the Safe Haven staff for creating a safe and loving family home for these children. They are acting out Psalm 82:3 every day.

We cannot change what has happened to these children in the past, but through our actions we can help change their present and equip them for the future. When the children needed comfort from nightmares, words of love and encouragement, help with homework, someone to look after them when they were sick or take them to the doctor, someone to play with or just to have someone be interested in them and their life, we were privileged to be able to offer this to them.

We also knew that we could truthfully say to the children, you are safe here. You are loved here. And you don’t have to worry here because there are many people who will look after you.

Now that I am home in Australia, it is easy to drift back into life and not do anything really. But for me personally, I am challenged to keep following this verse. I am challenged to intentionally look out for and recognize people in need. I am challenged to give generously to those in need, to be welcoming to those around me and to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

To see the justice that God wants for this world to become a reality.