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By Scott and Kerry Hasenbalg, with Nick Lyndon


“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” ~ Proverbs 31:8



Millions of orphans are waiting for hope. How are we to respond? What now? What about right now? This moment waits for us to act. We are not promised tomorrow and yesterday is past. God invites us to offer up each moment of our lives to Him so that we might have life.



It is not primarily through extravagant acts of sacrifice that we step out of our self-centered lives and inject hope into the lives of others, but rather it is through small acts of love done in humility by God’s leading. Through the small things we escape from our own prisons of selfishness and despair and enter into His overflowing life of abundant joy, with Jesus as our example.


Opportunities hide in plain view right in front of us and are ours for the taking, if only we will reach out. There is truly no time like the present to show hope, for “now is the only time we have with which to do anything.” What if we were to awaken from our sleep of blissful ignorance and find that we are strong? What if we were to shake off our chains of self-indulgence and find that we are alive? What if we were to take up the burden of Christ, love each other as He has loved us, and find that we are free? Ah, then we have come to it: if you want to be blessed, you must simply be a blessing. For it is in striving to be first that we find ourselves at the last alone, weary, forgotten, and unloved.


When we instead go to those who are forgotten and unloved, we find the pearl of great price: Himself, hiding this very moment, waiting to be discovered. He offers love and joy; He offers peace and purpose. His scars are real, but then, so is His glory.
It is in the small things we must take care to be faithful, for these moments steal past us to be sealed forever. Yet when we grab a hold of this moment, we touch eternity and catch a taste of the life promised. It is in the here and now we proclaim the not yet and the still to come.


With every thing we do or don’t do, with every kindness we offer and every gift we withhold, with every opportunity we miss and every chance we take, we shout with actions louder than words what it is we really believe and where our hope truly lies. May our loving actions to orphans in distress reveal “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” A broken world waits to see what is real, and we find that all we have is this moment in which to do something about it.


What now? Act now.


About Kerry:
Kerry Hasenbalg has worked on behalf of abused, neglected and vulnerable children for more than a decade. Kerry is co-founder and former Executive Director of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which serves as an informational and educational source to members of the United States Congress concerning adoption and the needs of orphans and foster children. She writes a devotional blog at http://www.cryoftheorphan.org/Display.asp?Page=KerryBlog