“…to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless” (Psalms 10:14b ESV).
The psalmist began by questioning where God is when the wicked persecute the poor. For the wicked appear to prosper and take advantage of the widow and the fatherless. Like a lion they lay in wait to attack the helpless and the vulnerable who have no apparent protection.
Yet God does see their trouble and grief. The helpless are not as helpless as they seem. For when they commit themselves to God, He is their Helper. For when the fatherless cry out to Him, He answers, adopting them as His own children.
I was a fatherless child. My father died when I was eight years old. My dear mother raised four children alone, yet not alone. For God was our Helper. When we cried out to Him, committing ourselves to Him, He answered. He was as a husband to my mother and a father to us. As the psalmist says in another place, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows is God” (Psa.68:5).
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, I will never forget how helpless we felt when our father died. Yet, I will also never forget how real You became to us in every moment. For You became our Helper and the Head of our house. You became our Father in the real sense. Strengthen us to tell others who are feeling helpless and fatherless about Your great love. In Jesus’ name, amen.