We serve a loving and compassionate Father, who knows us so intimately and longs to draw us close to Him. I want to encourage you tonight to draw close to Him, let Him hold you, and surrender to His embrace.  I was reading in John tonight about Jesus washing His disciples feet.  John writes, “having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love…” (13:1)  The full extent of His love… Is that not beautiful? Jesus has demonstrated not just a portion of His love, but His complete, eternal, and unconditional love without reserve.  

I cannot remember the first moment I experienced love, but I know God first poured out His love into my life through my parents, and I became secure in the Father’s love as a little girl.  For a child not to experience love from those who are meant to care for them and make them feel safe is devastating.  Some of you may have experienced hurt or abuse  from someone you trusted, and I pray you have been healed by coming to know the full extent of God’s love for you.  I want to share a story about a little girl I met yesterday named Achol.  I believe she experienced true love for the first time last night.

Achol lives in a small village very close to where we are staying.  Yesterday we were invited to lunch by a lovely woman named Elizabeth who helps serve at the compound.  I will tell you more about that later. On our way home from the village, Sabet (the missionary) was informed there was a little girl who needed help.  That night, she was brought to the clinic by neighbors, badly beaten and eyes full of fear.  My first glimpse of her was seeing her small frame sitting in the exam room with tears streaming down her face.  Her collar bone was broken, her back had been cut, her hands were swollen, and her spirit was wounded.  She is about nine years old.  Her story is that her mom passed away, her dad is a drunk who takes no responsibility for her, and her only other relative is her aunt who abuses her, forces her to do hard labor, and doesn’t feed her properly.  We sat with Achol, put her arm in a sling, and just loved on her.  One  man translated as I shared Jesus with her and she gently put her hand on top of mine.  Then Suzy and her three children (Hannah, Jedidiah, & Agum) came to the clinic with one of Hannah’s dresses.  As Achol put on her new dress, I saw this downcast, hurting little girl transformed.  She was like a different person with the biggest smile and eyes shining.  Hannah and Agum then put their arms around Achol and walked back to the compound to have dinner with us.  The sight of these three girls arm in arm was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Achol eyes were feasting on the food on the table before she ever took a bite.  I think it was the most food she has eaten in a while.  She just kept smiling.  After dinner, Sabet (Suzy’s husband) took her home and confronted her aunt about the abuse.  She admitted to “disciplining” her but denied abuse.  Sabet warned her that if the abuse continued, further action would be taken.  I know that God is directing Sabet in this situation.  He understands the culture and is led by the Spirit.  I wanted to keep Achol here, to know she is safe, to protect her from ever being hurt again.  Achol was the last thing on my mind as I fell asleep and the first thing in my prayers as I woke.  I couldn’t believe it when I saw her at morning devotions today with the same bright smile on her face.  At one point during the devotion, our eyes met, I smiled, and she smiled the most beautiful smile back…my heart melted.   

I don’t know what is going to happen with Achol, but I know that the Lord makes “everything beautiful in its time” (Ecc. 3:11). I don’t know why Achol has been inflicted with so much pain and abuse at such a young age, but I know that God is faithful, and He is a defender and Father to the fatherless.  Going back to John 15, Jesus tells Peter, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (v.7).  I believe His Word and trust that He sees Achol and wants her to know the “full extent” of His love.  He has not forgotten her.  I saw fear replaced by love in Achol’s eyes last night.  I saw love poured out from the Father into her heart.  I saw the full extent of His love for us in that He found us broken and bloody, destroyed by fear and hopelessness. He cleansed our wounds, wiped away our tears, clothed us in robes of righteousness, and wrapped His arms around us.   

“There is no one like the God of Israel, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in His majesty.  The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deut. 33: 26

I ask that you please pray for Achol.  Pray that she is safe, that she remembers she is loved by the Father, that she cries out to Him when is afraid, and that she experiences the full extent of His love over and over and over again.  Pray for her healing and that perfect love would remove fear from her heart.  Pray for her aunt to come to Christ and for God to do a miracle in her family.  Pray for wisdom for Sabet and Suzy if further intervention is required.  

Thank you for praying.  Remember that “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4).