Give Them Back! Part II

Yesterday we began looking at Isaiah 42 and how it applies to our work within the Church on behalf of the abortion-affected. Read on for more fascinating parallels to challenge and empower us to answer God's call to this unique mission field.

The Blindness of the People (Due to His Silence): (v. 14-15)

14 "I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
15 "I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.

God has been silent in the Church where the abortion-affected are concerned. Our churches are suffering, its people limping along in atrophied service to Him because their wounds are not healed. Christians in this country are struggling to survive: our marriages are falling prey to divorce at the same rate as non-Christians; approximately 50% of our men and teen boys are addicted to pornography; our women and teenaged girls are oppressed by eating disorders and other addictive behaviors. Depression among Christians knows no gender preference. Our people are wounded, imprisoned, and the growth of our fellowships (not just in numbers but in productivity and influence) has suffered. Each of these destructive issues can be attributed to a past abortion. We are undone! Even so, God has promised not to leave us in that condition.

The labor pains have begun. The groanings of restoration and recovery are subtle now, but the more people I talk with the more convinced I am God is doing a new thing in the Church! So many people within the Church are beginning to see the neglect the post-abortive have suffered in the Church, and their hearts are pounding with a desire to help them.

His Promise of Guidance for “the Remnant” and Deliverance for “the Undone:” (v. 16)

16 "I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone."

Every day the realization becomes more profound: We are breaking new ground. We are carving a new path. But God has promised to lead us on this new path of unexplored territory. We do not go alone! This is His ministry and we are His hands and feet, the "Jesus with skin on" to carry out the task to which He has called us. He has promised to lead us, to go with us, and to bring light into the darkness (i.e. bring awareness to the Church of the abortion-affected in her midst) and He will not leave us undone (i.e. that includes both those of us in abortion recovery ministry and those suffering silently within the Church). He is the One upon whom we must depend for every step we take on this journey. His promises are sure. How faithful is our God...!

Join us tomorrow for Part III in this series.