In the wake of the news of the quake in Haiti I began a post that I never finished but it goes along with many of the things God is laying on my heart so I'll just post it anyway.
(from late January)
Where to catch up in this long, cold January? I suppose I'll just start talking about the things occupying space in my head.
Security. Comfort. Peace. Purpose. Aren't these the things we all seek after? The things that are so very elusive; apart from Christ. I was stunned and grieved with millions of others at the news of the earthquake in Haiti. In a time of such cultural awareness, how many times can your heart break?
I prayed, I cried ,I held my kids close and clung to the stories like this that rolled in day after day, of miracles, and hope and resilience in the face of suffering. In a time when words fell short, I watched my small son on bended knee pray,"God please help the people in Haiti. Help them not to be so sad. Help them, to know that you are the King."
Yes, that is what I wanted to say. As I sit in my comfortable house surrounded by my loved ones, I feel so helpless. Then I was reminded of the power of prayer and of the sovereignty of our God. Their world shook and they lost mothers and brothers and babies and homes. They were scared, they bled, they cried, and they went hungry. Is it not a picture of so many of our hearts, shaken and torn groping desperately on the ground. Trying to pick up the shattered pieces of our lives and hold it all together, to get back on our feet. We are hungry, we are scared, we are fatherless. We all need a rescuer. My prayer for them is the same for every shaken soul including my own; "Lord, have mercy, bring hope, bring revival, help us pick up the pieces and redeem tragedy. Help them know you are the King." One might say,"Where is God in the midst of such tragedy?" There is no easy answer to this question. Except that I know He sees and cares about those who mourn(Matthew 5:4). Tim Keller offers a powerful voice on this age old dilemma; a loving God that allows suffering. I recommend this book or audio book for anyone who wrestles with these questions. He addresses these theological questions graciously but with out compromising scriptural integrity.
Many will rally together to be His hands and feet and voice, to help build up and bring hope. I pray that when the media attention wanes, the work will continue and God will bring a healing and restoration to Haiti that it has never known before.
~Psalm 46:1-11~
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolation's he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth." The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Selah)
(photos from flickr)
About those other things God has been laying on my heart, concerning comfort, conviction, mercy and calling, they'll have to wait until I'm more awake to write about them. Exhaustion is taking over.
