The Journey
19 December 2013
Lord Hear our Prayer
Dec. 18, 2013: In this image
released by the United Nations Mission Juba, civilians arrive at the compound
of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), adjacent
to Juba International Airport, to take refuge in Juba, South Sudan.
The journey of my physical presence in South Sudan may be over. The journey of my heart and soul that remain behind is far from
over. Sometimes the heartbreak is more
than I can bear. The latest BBC report
is about an attack on the UN Compound in Akobo.
I pray for my friends there.
There is nothing else I can do. I
am so very, very sad and feel so very, very helpless as I wonder if any of the casualties
are friends I left behind.
There have been other reports this week of the fighting in
Juba, Bor and other places. For now, I
understand that Malakal is safe. I have
friends in all these places, some from other countries, some are South Sudan
citizens, some are our mission co-workers.
I pray for all of them. I pray
that God graces them with his protection.
I pray for our partners in service there and for those who are negotiating
for peace.
I wonder how many have fled to the bush and how many are continuing
life as normal in these troubled times in South Sudan. How I wish I was there to help them. To walk with them and beside them. To hold their hands, dress their wounds and
address their fears with comfort and prayer.
It is times like these that I realize the answers to the “why”
that I have struggled so hard with since the decision was made that I can’t
return to South Sudan. For a long time
now, I have said I hear God saying, “not now.
The time will come.” I had that
conversation earlier this week when I said, once again, I believe we are there
too early. Someday, maybe in a year or
two, I will go back and continue the work that I still feel God has called me
to. And when I do, I pray the people
will be more ready, they will no longer be living in survival mode, they can
begin to move forward.
That is the conversation I had before I knew the extent of the fighting that has spread throughout the country this week.
That is the conversation I had before I knew the extent of the fighting that has spread throughout the country this week.
For now, the ongoing fighting that has been happening this
week, is a stumbling block to the progress that could be made there. I have to remind myself that God is in
control of this situation. I have to
remind myself these are people who have been fighting all the way back to the
time of Ham. They are children, grown to
men now, who have never known peace and never known a way of life that doesn’t
include fighting.
I was reminded yesterday in Bible Study, of the stories of
the massacres of the innocents as we compared the story of Moses and the story
of Jesus birth. As I sat and listened,
one ear on what was being said, and one ear bent in prayer for the people of
South Sudan, I was struck by an image that I couldn’t shake from my head.
It was an image of the destruction following the taking of
innocent lives that lead to Moses being found in the basket, and taken care of
until he became the man God intended him to be and raised him up as a great
leader and savior of his people. It was
an image of the massacre of the innocents after Jesus birth and how he was
taken to safety and protected until he grew to be the man God intended him to
be and he became the great savior of us all.
My prayer is that out of the ashes of the destruction of
innocents in the crossfires of the fighting in South Sudan God is now preparing
to save the life of the next great savior of the people of South Sudan.
I invite you to pray with me. Not just for the people of
South Sudan, but for all people throughout the world who are suffering their
own massacres of the innocents.
Lord, hear our prayer.
