‘My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. ‘ 1 John 2:1 NLT

‘That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.’ Hebrews 9:15 NLT

My small group at church is going through a book study series of sorts.  It is fantastic and I highly recommend it.  It’s called Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida.  It’s been challenging us to think about how we can reach and share the love of Christ to those who our society sees as the least of these.  Today we talked about advocacy—being the voice for someone who doesn’t have a voice.  The video talked about some examples that hit home a little for me and at the end the question was asked to share a time that either someone advocated for you or you advocated for someone else—I struggled.  I could think of times I advocated for others, but my mind was stuck on the hurt of all the times no one spoke up for me.  All the times I needed someone to be my voice but there wasn’t anyone.  

And I recognized that is what often drives me to be so passionate about injustice because I knew how much I needed for someone to stand up for me then, but none did.  But I left kind of broken once again asking God why there hadn’t been anyone to be my voice?  

A while later my mind was back on that and something once of the people in my small group said came back to me but in a different way.  He had said that because Jesus is our advocate we could advocate for people by praying.  I realized that in those moments when I desperately wanted someone to see me and to plead my case for the hurt and injustice that was happening to me, Jesus was.  He saw.  He was advocating to God the Father on my behalf.  He was speaking up for me.  He was my voice to my birth mom when she was alone, overwhelmed, and pregnant with me.  When she thought her only option was to end my life and have an abortion.  Jesus spoke up for me, and she changed her heart and placed me for adoption.  And there were other times too—even if I still don’t see or realize them all.  I can be encouraged knowing He was.

And He now gives me the heart and courage to be a voice for others.  To see those broken and hurting and speak up for them.  He has given me eyes to see more injustices then I feel most do because He knows I will spring into action.  I often asked God why it seems that I see all these things and others don’t.  Just a couple weeks ago I was asking Him that with tears streaming down my face.  But now I’m realizing that these hard things I seem to see a lot aren’t for me to be burdened by or live in fear, but a privilege because He knows I will speak up.  He knows that I’ll see the homeless man slumped and rambling on the street corner in a pool of blood and I will call 911.  He knows that when I see the young girl with the older guy tightly gripping her arm and pain and panic in her eyes that I will call those who I pray will help actually help.  And that I will take both those people’s situations with me not as burden but to bringing them to Jesus to advocate for them on their behalf. 

So even when it seems like we are going through something that no one sees or understands.  When you are crying alone wishing that someone would see and speak up on your behalf know that Jesus is.  He sees you.  He hears you.  And He is advocating for you—He will be your voice even when no one else will.