I didn't seek it out. All I did was looked at the news reports.
When I looked, I saw God's finger pointing towards the side, away from all the bloody conflict. He was pointing in the direction of the nation of Jordan. I followed His gaze and I recognized His Heart's desire regarding the matter.
He was pointing to the Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Jordan and His heart is to reach them with the Good News. His heart is to love them and heal them and to bring them into His family. This much I knew for a few months.
This impression got more interesting the other day when I opened the Scriptures to read a Psalm. I felt God saying "Psalm 37". I turned to Psalm 37 and began reading:
The wicked draw their swords
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
Psalm 37:14-15
and string their bows
to kill the poor and the oppressed,
to slaughter those who do right.
But their swords will stab their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
Psalm 37:14-15
I am calling your attention to the unique opportunity that has currently formed in the nation of Jordan. As millions of refugees flee bloody wars in neighboring Syria and Iraq, we have an opportunity to love on and to heal these downtrodden people by bringing them the Only Hope as found in the Good News of Jesus Christ. These people, who have been hostile to the Good News for centuries, are now painfully disenfranchised and are congregated in this one area with many needs and a lessened hostility.
Every day, they contemplete their plight. They contemplate their wounds. They re-examine their beliefs. They are ready. They are ready to hear the Good News! They are right there! They are ripe for the harvest!
God charged believers in Jesus Christ with the responsibility of advancing the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Don't wait to do something. Act now. Responsibility fslls on believers like you and me. This opportunity will not last forever.
Come to think of it, if you and I do nothing to help these people in this opportune time, what right do we have to complain when bleak news reports come in from the Middle East? We would have had our chance to release the Kingdom of God among the people there. The Kingdom of God is where lasting peace is. That peace helps them and their nation, Israel, you and your nation, and me and my nation-- that peace helps everyone!
But if you and I do nothing, then we can't complain when we turn on the news. You and I would have known how to bring real peace to these people and this region, but all we did was pound the couch and argue with the news anchor.
Evil thrives on fear, confusion, and pride. When we respond to evil with fear, confusion, and/or pride, it starts a perpetual cycle that enables evil to tighten it's thorny grip and dig in even deeper. Responding with fear often leads to prejudices, paranoia or even paralysis. None of these responses are fitting for representatives of The Prince of Peace. With these fearful responses-- prejudice, paranoia, and paralysis, etc.-- the two sides in the matter are set against each other. This provokes a defensive mechanism from the instigator group. That mechanism often means a relentless venegeance that stokes the fear of the moderate group all over again. Around the cycle goes-- all over again-- creating a stronghold for all the vices involved. You tear down the stronghold by stopping this cycle. Instead of fear, confusion, and subjectivity-- how about living in power and love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7)? How about trying selfless servitude and objective understanding towards the other side?
Case in point is the way Westerners deal (or don't deal) with Muslims.
"Too many Christians respond in the same way to situations like ISIS, the Ebola outbreak, an economy in a tailspin or any other trial that feels completely out of control... When the ground begins to move under our feet, fear tempts us to cut and run." --The ISIS Crisis, Dr. Charles Dyer, Mark Tobey (Moody Publishers)
The key is not to recklessly walk onto a battlefield or run out there and get Ebola. Yes, God can protect you and heal you. At that, I daresay He will! But the key here is simply to not fear the evil involved in the situation. The key is to be drawn to these atrocities in the victory of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit and to be ready and willing as a peacemaker of God to pour the peace of God into any and all people. No matter who, what, or where. It doesn't mean you have to walk into a war zone. It does mean you become willing to do so and you make yourself available to God for such. You might be blessed to send money or reach out to certain International students. Or you might find opportunity in a neighboring country-- like with Jordan today. But do not fear! Do not clamp up and run!
So how do you overcome the fear? In Christ Jesus, you trust God. If you can't find a particular fruit within yourself, then you can renew your mind and repent (change), ask God for that fruit in your life, and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill that particular room of your heart. He will certainly produe wonderful fruits in your life if you ask Him and seek after Him. Then, you ask for Him to help you. You step out in faith. You listen to His voice which will guide you. He will meet you there. And if He doesn't? And even if He doesn't, you trust that He is just. Even if they kill you, God will judge the matter one day-- and you trust that He is just. You are to be at peace no matter what happens.
But Satan, on the other hand, wants fear. Satan wants strife. Satan wants to divide brother against brother and nation against nation. Satan wants military action. Satan wants war. Satan planned war and death to destroy the Syrian and Iraqi people forever!
But God planned their salvation!
Yes! Their salvation! But will these people realize that salvation? Will they realize that peace? That may be up to you and me.
Listen! God is calling to all His children:
"LOOK! LOOK! I HAVE PREPARED THE SOIL! I HAVE WEEDED OUT THE TARES! WHILE THEY ARE AT WAR, I HAVE GATHERED THE PEOPLE IN ONE PLACE! I HAVE PREPARED THE WAY! WHO WILL GO?" God says, "EVIL DESTROYS ITSELF. IT'S PATH LEADS TO DESTRUCTION. IT'S WAGES-- DEATH. BUT I GIVE LIFE THROUGH MY SON. RECEIVE IT AND BE GLAD! BE VERY GLAD! FOR SOME MAY NEVER HEAR MY WORD. WHO WILL TAKE IT TO THEM?"
Yes, who will take it to them? Who will go?
