Spiritual Orphans

By: Donna J. Kazenske

What is a spiritual orphan? A spiritual orphan is one who feels alone; one who feels that they do not have a safe and secure place in the Father's heart where He can affirm, protect, provide and express His love to them. They feel as if they do not belong. They are full of fear, anxiety and insecurity.

Spiritual orphans cannot receive the love of the Father because they have been personally abused, hurt, rejected and wounded by their earthly fathers or those in authority over them. They cannot receive the love of their heavenly Father because they cannot bring themselves to a place of being able to trust Him. Trust involves vulnerability. Trust involves receiving. Spiritual orphans cannot trust or receive until the unhealed issues and hidden cores of pain are attended to. Basic trust is a real issue in the life of a spiritual orphan.

Trust involves opening your heart to others. Spiritual orphans have closed their hearts because they are afraid of being hurt. They refuse to make themselves vulnerable to others because of past hurts and pain. Their spirits are closed to a love relationship with their heavenly Father because they do not trust Him. Instead of running to God, they are continually running away from Him.

Spiritual orphans are dysfunctional because they lack the basic trust needed to have healthy relationships with those in authority. They find themselves battling with fear, control issues, independence and pride. They are not able to have intimate relationships because they are not able to receive comfort or love from God or others.

Spiritual orphans are those who remain in the outer court of God's presence. They do not have the capability to enter into the Holy of Holies because they fear intimacy. They have closed their hearts as a type of protection.

They are not able to submit to authority because of fear. Submission involves having an open heart. Submission involves vulnerability, closeness and honesty in relationships. Submission is an act of humility and receiving that releases God's grace and abilities in our lives. Submission has the power to set us free from our fears and insecurities.

Spiritual orphans have an independent spirit which often causes them to hide or deny pain. They like to control relationships with anger, passivity, isolation or various other means. They keep their distance from those who are in authority or from those who are able to help them.

Spiritual orphans often find comfort and identity in money (by possessing material things), addictions (to alcohol, drugs, food and other forms of immorality), position (looking for acceptance by obtaining the praise of man or striving to be seen by man), and power (by controlling their own lives).

Spiritual orphans focus more on God's acts than on His ways. They tend to keep themselves busy doing religious activity out of duty instead of relationship. In their limited understanding, love is not received, but earned. Their ungodly belief system tells them that they need to do more and more in order to be accepted by God. They are deceived into believing that they will never measure up to God's standard because they can never do enough to attain His love and acceptance.

Have you ever seen a hamster running around and around in a circular exercise toy? This type of activity is very similar to the lifestyle of a spiritual orphan. They have no sense of direction or destiny. They live their lives by just going through the motions.

Spiritual orphans are servants only and not sons or daughters of God. Servants perform duties, while sons and daughters receive the love of the Father.

I believe that we are in a season of becoming the true sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit is putting His finger in the hidden places of our hearts so that we can be healed and restored to a deeper relationship with Him. He desires more than and outer court relationship with us. He desires intimacy which involves inner court relationship. Inner court relationship involves trust and vulnerability.

Sonship is a matter of attainment and with it comes the privilege of authority in God. The body of Christ has not been fully operating in the authority of God because we are still functioning as spiritual orphans.

Jesus was declared the Son of God by His Father on the day of His baptism. Baptism represents death and resurrection. Baptism is a going down, a submitting unto death and an immersion into it. Resurrection can only take place after a death experience.
We must die to this orphan spirit. We must die to any independence of doing our own thing or doing our own will. We must die to any and all ungodly beliefs that keep us from becoming sons and daughters of God.

Spiritual inheritance is obtained only after death.

Hebrews 1:3 - ".....when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."

What is this verse saying? What name did Jesus obtain through His death and resurrection? He obtained the name, "Son of God."

Luke 3:22 - And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

After Jesus was baptized, symbolizing His death and resurrection, the Father made a decree from heaven to the world that Jesus was His beloved Son.

The Father in heaven is now waiting to decree our sonship to not only the world, but also to the principalities and powers of hell. When God the Father decrees our sonship as a result of our spiritual death and resurrection, the demons in hell will tremble because we will walk in the true authority and power of God.

It's time for us to get right with God. We need to repent and receive forgiveness through His blood because we have chosen to remain as spiritual orphans instead of sons and daughters of God. We must allow the Holy Spirit to have full rule and reign in our lives so that we can be set free and healed by His supernatural power. We must give ourselves completely to the Lord, withholding nothing from Him.

James 4:7-9 - Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up