INTRODUCTION

God specializes in caring for those that the world disdains. According to scripture, the Lord is "the helper of the fatherless," and the poor commit themselves unto His care (Psalm 10:14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
See All...). Why? Because the Lord regardeth "the oppression of the poor" (Ecclesiastes 5:8If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
See All...), and delivereth the poor "from him that is strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him" (Psalm 35:10All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
See All...). Jeremiah confirmed this truth when he said, "the LORD . . . hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers" (Jeremiah 20:13Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
See All...). The world may look at the poor as a burden, but the Lord sees them as one of His highest priorities.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS

• (For smaller children) There are many events which make people poor. Consider God's provision for these cases: death of a spouse (2 Kings 4:1-7 [1] Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. [2] And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. [3] Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. [4] And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. [5] So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. [6] And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. [7] Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
  See All...); drought (1 Kings 17:1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
  See All..., 7-16); sickness or infirmities (Luke 18:35-43 [35] And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging: [36] And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. [37] And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. [38] And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. [39] And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. [40] And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him, [41] Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. [42] And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. [43] And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.
  See All...); war (Judges 6:6And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
  See All..., 12-16). God does care (Psalm 68:10Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
  See All...b).
• How would the cause of one’s poverty change the Lord’s willingness to watch over an individual and deliver him from troubles? Why is this so important to understand?
• If God cares for the poor, shouldn’t we do the same? How crucial is it that we first discern the reason for one’s poverty before intervening?

PRAYER NEEDS

• Thank God for caring for those despised by the world.
• Ask God to help you share His heart for the poor.

HYMN

God Will Take Care of You

LTB DEVOTIONS ON FACEBOOK

Receive the daily devotions on your facebook wall by clicking "Like" on http://www.facebook.com/kingjamesbibledailydevotions.