I’m taking a class called “Communication and International Development” and I’ve been becoming more and more aware of how the rich countries exploit the poor ones, how Western tourists are the ones supporting sick industries like child sex-slavery, and how even good intentions usually hurt more than help when reaching out to other nations because we often don’t know the heart of their needs and try to impress on them solutions to our needs. These things have been on my heart with such a fervor and frustration that I have almost been angry and also fearful for the future of our world.
But then I found this verse:
Psalm 46:2-10 Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice and the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the Lord…He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
I have been talking
to people who have done missions in Thailand. Some said that it’s
really hard because people, though mostly Buddhist, are not very
spiritual at all, and talk about God and heaven is often received with
a blank stare. This startled me because even in England, a very
unspiritual place people I approached with spiritual surveys really wanted to ponder the idea of God and to
talk about it and hear my thoughts.
But I am not worried because I also know that God says later in that verse
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord God hates injustice and one day he will be exalted among the nations so I will have peace and know that he is God, not worrying but I will (Isaiah 1:17): Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. God has called me to do so.
I have been so busy this month, and had a lot of conflict in my life
that it has been hard to prepare my heart for the trip, but God’s has been
preparing my heart anyway. In fact, as you can see, he given me a heart for the poor and broken very fervently. My personal cut off date (to drop out of the
trip because I can’t afford to pay if I don’t raise enough) was today
and I have…drum roll…100 percent of my funds! God truly does
provide and he has been showing me his goodness though many college
students who have been so generous and self-sacrificing!
Hallelujah! Praise God who is Lord over all the earth!!
