Tag: Hope

October 2, 2024

My wife Kathy and I recently participated in a Zoom call with our ministry partners in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, and India. They gave us and each other updates on their work with orphans, widows, and other vulnerable people in distress. They are true champions, soldiering on faithfully in the midst of limitless adversity.

Facing drought, disease, violence and endemic food insecurity our WOW partners continue to reach out to “the least of these” (to use Jesus’ term) with home based (and in India, street based) care. They are like ministering angels.

They could yield to discouragement and despair but their core values of righteousness, justice, and servanthood provide a “North Star” in their compassionate pursuit of bringing hope to the hopeless. They descend into the pit of their neighbours’ sorrow and bring the light of God’s love to broken souls.

Indeed the words of Psalm 103 come to mind where David declared:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord…
Who redeems your life
from the pit
Who crowns you with
steadfast love and
mercy….”

The “pit” may threaten to consume but the “steadfast love” of the Lord rescues and redeems. Our WOW champions believe and practise this. In a dark world they are letting their light shine.

 

September 4, 2024

I don’t know about you but I’m more than a little tired with the glut of conspiracy theories out there. Whether about vaccines, politics, environment, or culture wars, a kind of social media swampland is incubating an ecosystem of fear. Indeed, it’s fear that fuels conspiracies. When someone with almost evangelical fervour tries to convince me of a current conspiracy I ask, “So what are you afraid of?”

When I was a teenager my dad once said to me, “Fear God and nothing else”, and then reminded me that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom”.

I was rereading the book of Isaiah recently and came across something I had highlighted in past readings, “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Is. 8:12,13).

For God there are no surprises because He is omniscient. There is nothing outside of His control because He is sovereign. He can and does handle all eventualities because He is provident. He can be trusted.

Fear Him. Fear nothing else. Let your sleep be sweet.