“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”
— Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (NIV)
The Papercut of Exclusion
There are a thousand little reminders each day that you are not from here.
It’s in the paperwork that asks for your country of origin. It’s in the polite but pointed question, “So, where are you really from?” It’s in the moment you miss a cultural reference and everyone else laughs. Each instance is a small papercut, leaving you feeling like a guest, a temporary resident, a foreigner.
It is dangerously easy to transfer that feeling onto our relationship with God. We can start to believe that we are foreigners to Him, too – that we are guests in a spiritual house that belongs to the native-born.
Center of the Circle
If that is how you have been feeling, read Deuteronomy 10 again. This isn’t a gentle suggestion; this is a declaration of God’s character.
Right alongside His defense of the orphan and the widow, He makes a stunning statement: He loves the foreigner.
Let that sink in. The very status that makes you feel like an outsider in the world is a status that draws the focused, intentional love of God. Your identity as an immigrant is not a barrier to His affection; it is a specific focus of it.
Practical Love
His love isn’t just a vague feeling; it’s practical. He provides “food and clothing.” This echoes the promise of manna; our God provides for those in vulnerable positions.
God reminds us: “…for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” The story of faith is a diaspora story. Abraham, Joseph, the early Church – they were all people on the move. You are not an anomaly. You are not on the outside of God’s story. You are living right in the heart of it.
In the eyes of the world, you may be a foreigner. But in the Kingdom of God, you are a child held in a special place in the heart of the Father.
🛡️ The Diaspora Challenge
Action steps for your journey today.
- The Translation: Find the word for “foreigner” or “immigrant” in your native language.
- The Association: Write it in your journal. Next to it, write out Deuteronomy 10:18-19.
- The Claim: Read it aloud. Seeing God’s profound promise right beside your own word for your identity is a powerful act of claiming His love.
🙏 A Prayer for Belonging
Lord, thank You for this promise. Thank you that my status as a foreigner doesn’t push me to the margins of Your love, but draws me closer to the center of Your heart. Forgive me for believing the lie that I am an outsider to You. Help me to see myself today not through the world’s eyes, but through Yours—as a beloved child on a well-trodden path. Amen.
This is Day 6 of The Diaspora Devotional by Andrew Airahuobhor. [Get the full 30-Day Collection Here]