Monday, July 20, 2015

Preserving the Precious, Protecting the Weak

Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 NKJV


I heard a true story about a prisoner, watching as a Mother Robin built her nest in a precarious place on a chain link fence outside the window of the prison. 

The prisoner watched as the Mother sat on her nest, protecting her young, even before they were born, from the elements that beat down vehemently upon her. 

Fearful for the fate of the baby birds, the prisoner watched as day by day, the Mother tried to care for her young under incredibly difficult circumstances. 

Finally, they fell from the nest, onto the rocks below. Heartbroken and helpless to do anything to help the sweet, innocent birds, the prisoner wept. 

And the prisoner watched as a guard, taking some pity on the fledgling robins, placed them on a napkin in the shade. 

To the prisoner's dismay, along came two more prison guards. Laughing, they threw the baby birds into the sewage drain, and walked away . . . 

And so weeping, the prisoner watched from behind the prison bars. 

This is the devastation of sin in the world. This is the no "happy ending." This is the tragedy and the loss and the chaos and the sorrow. 

This story made me feel sick, that deep, sorrowing sick, when we realize that the unthinkable has happened. 


I watched as she enjoyed life while talking about death. 

I watched as she ate and drank and celebrated the monetary benefits that an aborted babies' heart, lungs, and liver could deliver to an organization supported by taxpayer's funds. 

And I, like so many others, felt sick. 

The unthinkable . . . playing out on a camera with words and lips and wine and flippancy and the casual toss of a fork into a salad.

And she spoke of the intentional grasp of forceps that were careful not to crush the parts of a baby that would bring a profit--oh yes, discard the rest, the parts that were unwanted, unloved, and a burden to a woman and to an unfeeling society that has almost lost its conscience. 

Throw away those parts. 

Keep the ones that will rake in a profit. Heart, lungs, liver. 

His heart must be broken. 


My heart was broken . . . how much more, His?

The devastation of sin, the crushing, the destruction, the chaos. 

An innocent baby, thrown into a garbage can.

Innocent baby Robins, thrown into a sewer.

And the world turns away distracted eyes and overlooks and laughs and carries on with "life."

So I ask, how must we respond to these kinds of tragedies, these kinds of attitudes, this kind of sorrow?

With despair? Or with hope? 

He sees the falling of the sparrow. He formed the small one in the womb. He knows each tiny, infinite detail. And He weeps and loves. 

As His, we have a sacred duty. 

A duty to speak for those "appointed to die," a duty to protect the innocent, to defend the weak and the small and the powerless. 

And when we do this, there is hope. 

We make tiny ripples in the pools of complacency. 

We stoop down and we lift tiny birds dying in the scorching sun and we protect them and we nurture them and we set them free to live. 

We touch the hand, the heart of the unwed mother and we speak truth and we speak hope and we speak life and we pray that her eyes and her heart may be opened not to destroy life, but to preserve it. 

Because all life is precious. 


And when we ignore the evil around us, when we refuse to speak, when we will do nothing, are we not just as guilty as the perpetrators of evil? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and theologian executed by hanging under Hitler's regime wrote: 

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. 

We must speak. We must act. We must love. We must not be afraid. 

In the little circumstances of life and in the great ones. May we not be silent when confronted by evil. May we not be so comfortable in this fading life that we don't long for the next. May we not overlook evil because it makes our life a little easier. For now. 

Because there is hope. Hope for individuals, hope for the crushed hurting, hope beyond the grave. 

At times we grow afraid. It appears that evil has won.

It has not. He is bringing all things, all events into the fruition of His will; He is ordering the paths of the nations; He is working in unseen ways Hope and Heaven and deliverance and peace. 

And we are sojourners here. For a short time. For a brief hour. May we not let our lives be wasted. May we speak and protect and pray and trust and live for His kingdom--waiting and watching in hope. 







You might find me on these link-ups:

Strangers and Pilgrims on EarthInspire Me MondayThe Modest MomWhat Joy is Mine, SDG Gathering, A Mama's Story, Mom's the Word, Rich Faith Rising, Time Warp Wife, Cornerstone Confessions, Mom's Morning Coffee, Motivate and Rejuvenate MondaysSo Much at Home, Raising Homemakers, Hope in Every SeasonA Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Ministries, Whole-Hearted Home, Testimony TuesdayTell His StoryA Soft Gentle Voice, My Daily Walk in His Grace, Women With Intention WednesdaysMessy Marriage, The Charm of Home, Graced Simplicity, Theology ThursdaysChildren Are A Blessing, Mittenstate Sheep and Wool, Imparting Grace, Preparedness Mama, A Look at the Book, Essential Thing Devotions, Thought Provoking ThursdayEvery Day JesusCount My Blessings, Christian Mommy Blogger, Renewed Daily, Soul SurvivalGood Morning MondaysThe Weekend BrewBlessing Counters Link PartyThe HomeAcre HopMommy Moments Link UpGrace and Truth LinkupFaith Filled FridaySaturday Soiree Blog PartyTell It To Me TuesdaysSHINE Blog Hop, Faith and  Fellowship Blog HopMotivate and Rejuvenate Monday Link-UpA Little R&R WednesdaysTGI Saturdays Blog HopTotally Terrific TuesdayRaRaLinkup

29 comments:

  1. Oh, goodness - such wise words. Thank you. I will be linking to this post later this week!

    Diana J.

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    1. You're welcome, Diana! I'm glad that these words were a blessing!

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  2. Precious words, my friend! Keep standing for truth and righteousness. I know it feels like we are trying to fight raging forest fires with garden hoses, but may God help us to be faithful at our individual posts of duty. May the truth being spoken from different places go out as a unified voice in defense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Much love and many blessings to you.

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    1. Thank you for your words, Cheryl! Yes; that is exactly how it feels sometimes! Your words spoke to me--to keep on being faithful in the small things, to continue to watch, to trust, to pray, to listen to His Spirit. He is truly bringing His purposes to pass; may we be counted faithful!

      Have a blessed week, dear sister in the Lord!

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  3. What wonderful thoughts. Thank you. There is so much hope we have in God. I agree so much with you on not being silent.

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    1. Yes; He is truly our Hope! The Lord bless you; have a wonderful week :-).

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  4. Visiting from Women with Intention ... God is faithful and He is always there for us. Ponderings here for one to think about and meditate on.

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  5. All life is precious. Amen, amen. Thank you for proclaiming the truth. @W2Wword-filledwednesday

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    1. Yes, Bethany; truly, it is! Have a wonderful week :-).

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  6. Bekki, My stomach twisted in knots as I read the story about the prisoner and the birds. Such cold, callousness of the prison guards that just tossed them away...

    And now unfolding before us, the cold, callousness of a woman sharing about the atrocities taking place within Planned Parenthood, tossing precious babies in the trash, harvesting organs for profit, as if she were sharing about the latest sale at Macy's. My heart is broken to the point of despairing. I look at my precious granddaughter and ask myself how anyone could kill an innocent baby; a baby with a soul, God's masterpiece.

    This whole situation seemed too big for me as I asked myself what could I do to stop it... Then your wise words broke through and reminded me that getting involved in A Women's Concern or an organization like that which provides help and counsel for pregnant mothers to steer them in the direction of keeping their babies, giving them Hope for the future.

    Thank you Bekki for "Opening your mouth for the speechless,
    In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
    Opening your mouth, judging righteously,
    And pleading the cause of the poor and needy.

    Proverbs 31:8-9 NKJV

    You are such a blessing dear sister. <3

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    1. Yes, Karen; it is so heartbreaking! I pray that the Lord may give His people hearts of compassion and hands that act and lips that speak--may He do this in my life and heart!

      I love the verses that you shared from the Proverbs; they are such a good reminder to be mindful of these things! I love you, Karen; thank you for your words!

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  7. Thank you for the wonderful words on this sobering and heartbreaking subject... God doesn't expect us to do away with the ugliness... He expects us to be faithful and obedient and leave the results to Him... even in the midst of the ugliness. Thank you for your post.

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    1. Yes, that is so very true! And it brings hope through Him in the midst of all the sadness and sin in this world. May we cling to Him and seek Him and see Him through it all.

      Have a blessed week!

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  8. An incredible post and reminder that even small things we say and do against evil creates ripples and has impact - speak, act, love - important and heartfelt words - thank you. Your neighbour in the Coffee and Conversation link up.

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    1. Yes; that is true! If we obey Him in the small things in our own lives and sphere of influence, He will work and be glorified--and we never know how He will use our "five loaves and two fishes," to feed and nourish and bring honor to Himself. Thank you for your words of encouragement and for stopping by. :-)

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  9. An incredible post and reminder that even small things we say and do against evil creates ripples and has impact - speak, act, love - important and heartfelt words - thank you. Your neighbour in the Coffee and Conversation link up.

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  10. It's so hard for me to comprehend the cruelty that takes place in our world. I pray that God gives us opportunities to share his truth and love to a hurting and broken world. I never want to get apathetic but gain God's heart for those who can't speak for themselves and have compassion for those who are lost and are in sin. Linking up with you at strangers and pilgrims on earth:)

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    1. Yes, Rebekah; thank you for your words! I pray that He will work through us to bring hope to those who are hurting and to speak the truth in love even when it is unpopular.

      May God bless you!

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  11. Amen! All life is precious, indeed! I can't believe my ears when I hear of these things happening. Last week, I went into an ultrasound for our newest baby. He has a bilateral cleft lip and assumed cleft palate. The doctor came in afterwards pushing an amniocentesis on me in case I wanted to find out if my son might have something else wrong with him. The odds of loosing the baby for the gain of knowing less than a handful of months earlier about something is not worth it to me. He then proceeded to actually tell me that it'd be good to know about it in case I changed my mind on the baby. I was floored. It does not matter if there are things wrong with the baby. If he was put in my womb to carry, I will carry him to the end. If he is born with something beyond the cleft condition, then that is how it was meant to be. God does not make mistakes. This is all apart of His creation. Thank you for your words in this post. The world needs to hear about the value of life.

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    1. Carrie, thank you for sharing those words with me--that is so very true; He doesn't make mistakes and what He gives, He gives in love. We look for perfection--He creates something that we see as "imperfect" and the world tells us to discard it. But it is truly a gift--and beautiful and loved by Him. Oh, for eyes to see as He sees! May the Lord bless you and your husband and your family and your precious little one that is coming. What a blessing he has in already being so loved.

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  12. This is both a touching and convicting post and I thank you for the challenge to stand up for those who are unable to stand for themselves especially our unborn children. This is horror unimaginable. Thank you for sharing this at Good Morning Mondays, this is definitely.something we all need to hear. Blessing

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    1. Thank you for that encouragement, Terri, to continue to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves . . . We live in such a cruel world, but He truly does bring hope.

      May God bless you, Terri!

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  13. You are courageous, Rebekah. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Sharita; God bless you! :-)

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  14. I am so thankful for these words and your voice in the midst of the horrors facing innocent lives. I cannot stomach watching the video of the woman drinking her wine and taking about how they saved the important parts of the baby. My son described it to me and we had a wonderful discussion but you are right in quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer who tells us that not speaking is actually speaking. Thank you for sharing this at The Weekend Brew.

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    1. Yes, Mary; I always find Bonhoeffer's words so convicting, too! May God give us every grace to speak truth and to act and to love in His Name without being afraid!

      Have a blessed weekend!

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  15. I did not see the video, but read about the story. You know, for so long, I believed that because there is so much wrong in the world, God must look down with such sadness all the time. But then I read John Piper's book, The Pleasures of God, that talks about how God is a happy God, despite all the crazy stuff we do. This reminds me that while He does weep for all the atrocities that happen, He has the bigger picture and He will call us home again one day so that we might see as He does, too. Thankful for this hope that inspires us to act here on earth, but set our sights on what is to come.

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    1. Jen, it is an encouragement and a strong comfort that He truly does have the "bigger picture" in mind and that one day, we will behold Him and look back and see how His perfect plan unfolded so intricately where it looked like there was no hope. He is indeed a God of hope!

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