My brother Nick was here a few months back and he has done some processing and sharing and he taught at youth group related to some of what he learned here. Bonus- he chose to also share with me and now I'm sharing with you.
In the time i spent in Soroti i slowly became aware of something that at first i couldn't quite put my finger on. When i returned to the States and had some time to really step back and absorb what i saw i came to realize what it was that i had seen. Fear. Now when i say fear, i don't mean the emotion really, but the possibility of fear. Fear as an entity. The possibility and inevitability of being afraid. And the more thought and prayer that i poured in the more i came to understand that fear. The children i met have so much in their lives to be afraid of. We worked one day with a group of street kids who had no home but the gutter, until a shelter was provided. I met girls whose grandmothers were beggars, whose siblings they watched suffer with HIV, who had no guarantee of daily meals. And i saw the fear that lived below the surface of their lives. So often i saw these girls sing and dance. i saw them smile and laugh. And in later months i realized that through it all below it all was fear. There were times when amongst there songs and their laughter i saw i true joy, but in other times and vastly more often i saw a way to distract from the fears in their life. An escape from the reality. And the more i prayed and wrestled with this thought the more and more i became aware of the fear inside of me. What i came to realize was the fear below my surface the fear of failure, the fear of being alone, the fear of losing my friends and my family is the same the fear.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The devil is that fear. He is my enemy, he is our enemy and he prowls this earth looking to devour us. He feeds this fear that lingers beneath the surface waiting to spring up and bring the tears to our eyes, to drive us to our rooms to cower alone and let the fear of this world wash over and engulf us. And with this realization came a few more. i realized the feeble ways in which we as a people choose to deal with this fear. Whether we choose to accept it or not we are aware of this fear. We are aware of its presence in the world. Aware that it exists beneath the surface. And with that awareness i've begun to realize that i want to hide from it. i want to stick my head in the sand and pretend it isn't there. i discovered that where the Ugandan girls i met used singing and dancing and playing to distract so do i. We use television, video games, books, jobs, school, sports and so much more to try and fend off that fear. To hold it off and keep it from pulling us under. And the girls i met used what they had to do the same.
This all came to light when i was asked to speak to the Jr high and Sr. High groups at my church on the topic of faith. And more specifically on Jennifer and Beckie's faith and their choice to become missionaries. My struggle with that was simply this: do i have any right to speak to jennifer and beckie's faith? I know my own and to a degree i know theirs but can i come right out and flat out say here is their faith and why they did it and why they continue? i decided that i don't. What i could do was speak to the fruits of their faith and speak of my own faith.
So as i wresteled and struggled with this fear and faith here's what i came up with. The best way to combat the fear that the devil has instilled in this world is through the hope, peace, joy and love of God. And i came to understand that if we stand firm in our faith, through us God will provide those fruits. God will grow healthy fruit in us.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Through jennifer's faith she was called to Uganda. She pursued a medical degree in the hope that she could fill a need in the lives of the sick in Uganda. And as i was able to go and see the work what i realized is that she was sent to bring medical help but what was given by the Grace of God was hope. She told a story of two twins who had recieved their names because their father believed they would live. It was a family that was given hope. I saw the faces of people light up as jennifer would come and bring them whatever aid she could offer and in turn through her God provided a joy to the sick, a hope to the lost. It is through faith that the fear and darkness is being fought and it is only through God that it can truly be defeated.
Beckie was also called and she spoke of being able to take kids once a month to a place called Sisiyi falls. I was blessed to be able to spend a couple nights there on my way home and it is a place of such peace. It is a place where the beauty and glory of our great God abounds. Through beckie these kids are being given the opportunity to escape from the constant fear around them and experience the True Peace and joy that only God can offer.
1 Peter 5:8-10
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
My challenge to our highschoolers was this. Stand firm in your faith. Know that throughout the world there are those who suffer. Offer your fears up to God and in faith know that he is a God who heals, who provides peace, joy, and love. In your faith dont ignore or hide from the fear but take a stand against with the knowledge that others stand alongside you. With the faith like a child you can move mountians.
Before i spoke that night i heard a song from Jars of Clay (Faith Like a Child- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bahfh5mB9c8) and it was my prayer for the evening.
Dear God, surround me as I speak,the bridges that I walk across are weakFrustrations fill the void that I can't solely bearDear God, don't let me fall apart, you've held me close to youI have turned away and searched for answers I can't understand
They say that I can move the mountainsAnd send them crashing into the seaThey say that I can walk on waterIf I would follow and believewith faith like a child
Sometimes, when I feel miles awayand my eyes can't see your faceI wonder if I've grown to lose the recklessnessI walked in light of you
They say that love can heal the brokenThey say that hope can make you seeThey say that faith can find a SaviorIf you would follow and believewith faith like a child.
Thanks Nick for being willing to share your struggles. I love you and continue to pray for you!
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