I WILL KEEP THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW

Jeremiah 49:11
Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me. (WEB)

The Scriptures are very clear of God's heart for the fatherless and the widow. He is their protector and their provider. From what I understand from Old Testament tradition, when a child lost their father, they were considered an orphan even though they still had their mother to care for them.

I think the reason they are included together in the Scriptures is because they have both lost something very dear to them. Both widows and their children are left vulnerable without a husband and father. I truly believe that this moves the heart of God because He promises to be a 'father to the fatherless' (Psalm 68:5) and a husband to those who need His care.

I truly believe that God's promise to protect and provide for the fatherless and the widow is more relevant today than in any other generation. For we live in a society where nearly 50% of marriages end in divorce. I believe that God sees today's single moms and children without dads present in the same way as He sees orphans and widows.

I am convinced that our Heavenly Father not only promises to be a father to literal orphans, but He promises to be a father to all who feel fatherless for whatever reason. And for those dear single moms who are struggling to make ends meet while caring for their children, may you too feel the comforting, protecting love of God in all that you do. As our Heavenly Father says in today's Scripture passage... Leave your fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me. (WEB)

James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (WEB)