By Ruth Sakstad
I've been watching the news over the last couple of months as catastrophe after catastrophe happens around the world - earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires, wars. The aid workers around the world can't keep up.
I believe that this is the time for Christians to step up to the plate as never before. I haven't been able to get out of my mind the thousands of Japanese people who went to a Christless eternity last weekend. Families were torn apart. Parents have lost their children, children have lost their parents. My heart aches for them.
I also realize that all of the things did not catch God by surprise and He can work things out for good even though we have no idea how.
All of these catastrophes have caused me to move my prayers from the simple "God bless me and my family" to something deeper and outside myself.
The earth groans but God is still in control. For that I am very grateful.
Ruth Sakstad
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Yes, Ruth. Let's take comfort in the fact that God is still in control and nothing takes Him by surprise. It behooves us all to step out of our comfortable and selfish prayers.
ReplyDeleteRuth, you raise the question of how responsible we should be for the affairs of the world. I think many of us consider world affairs too large for our petty involvement.
ReplyDeleteBut prayer knows no boundaries, nor is it limited in scope, because God is the one we have access to. Nothing is too large for Him.
But I often feel that prayer without action is a little thin. Just because we cannot do everything, shouldn't stop us from doing something--however small it may be.
As the old song says: "Little is much if God is in it!"
Bryan Norford, I appreciate your comments. I guess I should have added that as we pray we can do things as well. The book of James tells us to have faith and to do good works. I was recently contacted by an organization that was looking for gently used clothes to be given to those who are in need. I had been thinking about some clothes that had been hanging in my closet that I no longer wore. So when the organization called me I was glad to help them out. Thank you for reminded me that prayer and action should be done in tandem. Ruth Sakstad
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