The most important question you will ever ask is, “Who is my father?” Your answer to this question will influence every other question of life. Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Get the father question wrong and you will miss it on every other issue. Your identity will be blurred, you will have no lasting peace and security. We live in a world that suffers from fatherlessness. An orphan spirit is one that lacks identity, protection, provision, guidance—all the things a father fulfils. Someone with an orphan spirit turns to passions, possessions, performance, people, and positions to gain some semblance of identity and purpose, but to no avail.
Romans 8:15-16 (MSG) This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children.
In Genesis 1 God is revealed as creator. When man is created, God reveals Himself as Lord God Yahweh a covenant keeping God. He revealed Himself to Abraham as His provider. But the greatest revelation of God came through Jesus. Jesus revealed God to us as Father, He came to show us the Father.
In our culture, fathers are mostly absent. Even in the stories we grew up reading, the fathers are missing. Ask yourself, what do the following characters all have in common? Cinderella, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Pollyanna, Heidi, Matilda, Oliver Twist, Mowgli, Spiderman, Batman. Answer: They are all orphans. None of them know their fathers. The stories we tell shape our children. In contrast, the stories Jesus told often featured good fathers. In his most famous story, a father is the hero who falls on his wayward son, not with blows, but hugs and kisses (Luke 15:20). I like that story because it speaks to the universal need for a good father who loves us as we are and not as we should be.
Jesus promised us in John 14:18 (NKJV), “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you”. The root of all anxiety, worry and fear is the same — it is an orphaned spirit. Orphans are on their own and they must take care of their own problems. The orphan spirit manifest itself in unbelief. The root of unbelief is not knowing that God really loves us and the He is a good Father who will provide for us. The real reason a person breaks God’s commandments is due to this orphaned spirit. A person steals, because they don’t believe that God will provide for them, and the reason that the don’t believe that God will provide for them is they don’t believe that God really loves them, (orphaned spirit).
The Answer to the Orphan Spirit is Adoption
Romans 8:14-16 (NKJV)
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
EPH 1:5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
Look again at Ephesians 1:6, this verse is such good news for those who want no part in the acceptance game. Look at the first part of that verse. Does it say, “To the praise of the glory of your service?” It does not. His acceptance of you is to the praise of the glory of his grace! That’s wonderful good news!
But wait, it gets better. Look at the middle part of that verse. “He made us accepted.” His acceptance is not something you ever need strive for; you already have it. What relief! What freedom! But wait, there’s more. Look at the final part of the verse: “in the Beloved.” This is referring to Jesus. God’s acceptance comes to you on account of his Son. So, if you want to know just how acceptable you are to God, you only have to look at the One called Beloved.