|
6th
January, 2005
MAL
FLETCHER
On TV today I saw a Catholic priest in Sri Lanka responding
to the question: ‘Does a disaster like this one challenge
your faith?’
He looked sorrowfully at the devastation all about him and
replied that yes, it was difficult to tell people that God
loves them while they’re working through something like
this.
His answer was honest and down to earth. It also reflected
what thinking and caring people will be feeling all over the
world. It is difficult to know what can be done to help in
the face of such overwhelming tragedy. The problem seems so
huge and we seem so small.
Yet this priest’s demeanour suggested that, had edit
time allowed, he might be going to follow it with a sentence
offering hope.
At times like these, people need much more than words and
it is difficult to talk about God’s love without some
people thinking that you’re simply trying to make light
of disaster. The people enduring this unimaginable turmoil
need practical support. They need our gifts of finance as
well as our good wishes.
"While
words may at times seem cheap they do count for something,
and this is exactly the time for people to hear that
God does care.
"When it seems that every security has been stripped
away and that life itself has been revealed in all
its fragility, we need to know that Someone up there
is capable of bringing good out of the worst moments
of despair."
|
Yet while words may at times seem cheap they do count for
something, and this is exactly the time for people to hear
that God does care.
When it seems that every security has been stripped away and
that life itself has been revealed in all its fragility, we
need to know that Someone up there is capable of bringing
good out of the worst moments of despair.
According to the Bible, our words are never more powerful
than when they’re uttered in heartfelt prayer. Jesus
taught that faith-filled prayer can move mountains. The prophets
taught that prayer can even heal a nation’s wounds.
When words are turned heavenward with heartfelt intensity
and a genuine love for God, they can and do make a difference.
So, at times like these we give all that we can financially
and then we give some more in prayer.
If the Bible is to be believed, the phrase ‘God is love’
is not simply a cliché but a statement of eternal truth
and one which we can test in our own experience, as we put
our faith in his help and deliverance.
It may be hard for us to see this now, but at the end of all
the turmoil, God will somehow bring some good from even this
horrific event – if people of faith will commit themselves
to pray.
Mal Fletcher
is the founder and director of Next Wave International, a
Christian mission to contemporary cultures
with a special focus on Europe.
This
article is reproduced with permission from www.nextwaveonline.com.
Copyright Mal Fletcher 2004.
|
