“Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalm 61:1-3
Five years ago, almost to the date, a friend of mine and I drove along a ridge covered with a mixture of snow and mud. I spied my first sightings of Ukraine as I looked across the River Prut to the north from my vantage point in Romania. The river is an offshoot of the famous Danube River of classical lore and forms an aquatic border between Romania and its neighbors, Ukraine and Moldova. The scene was fraught with idyllic memories of childhood fairy tales. Indeed, it was a memorable and picturesque sight to behold.
The recent news has evoked anxious and foreboding thoughts at the possibility of the Russian invasion into Ukraine. Each report, though, rebuffed. An old friend posted on social media this morning. The invasion happened overnight and caught their family amid the turmoil! The images were horrific and disheartening! Such a military campaign had reportedly not occurred since World War II.
I do not intend this post to be a political take on an already volatile situation. Nevertheless, the current military campaign is not warranted and should be condemned. In addition, the Word of God is quite clear in Daniel 2:41-44 that there will not be another unifying world power until Jesus Christ returns and sets up His kingdom. All other attempts are futile.
Meanwhile, this post is to extend a call to action from Christian and global citizen standpoints. When faced with such dire circumstances, our first inclination should be to pray. Pray for Ukraine! As with many disasters, both natural and fabricated, the news clips are not the end-all to the humanitarian fallout that is to result. Lives lost, families disrupted. For many, if not most, life will never be the same. Many children will face a lifetime of psychosocial disturbance as they face the traumatic aftermath of carnage and devastation in their home country. It is a call to action; yes, to pray, but also to prepare to help.
This is only the beginning.
4 thoughts on “Unimaginable”
It is so sad that in a world with all the advances that we have it still comes down to who feels their are the big dogs on the block. The news is hard to watch but it lets me know as a Seventh day Adventist Christian with the beliefs that we have, we know God is coming back soon. The medical advances, the political corruption, the never ending devastation of Mother Nature has pushed me to a point where I have to make a decision. Go on with life as usual or believe and trust that their is a God and His word is true. My prayer is please give us the strength to hold on when everything else around us spins out of control. Help us to stand when all else seems to be whirling out of control.
Robert Esco
Thank you for that thoughtful comment. We get our news from the radio, thereby avoiding the visual horrors. But your response– the unique sadness that comes when you know firsthand the area of the current disaster–made me think more deeply on what the situation means to Ukrainians. I shall continue to pray for Ukraine (and Russia)–more fervently.
Lela Moore Gooding
Thank you for this post. Reminding us all to go beyond listening to the news but also pray and take action.
Glad you pointed out Daniel 2:41-44. sure all other attempts are futile. These are indeed prophetic times and we continue to pray that God’s will be done.
Chibby
From a biblical prophetic perspective this war is not in the favor of the communist powers, some of the last barriers against the Gospel preaching in all the world, promised by Jesus as the last sign of His retuning as Savior and Judge. Russia discovered its weakness and for the maturation of the grain and the wheat and the tares even the North Korean and other fundamentalist forces will lose their power, so that the testimony of Jesus to arrive to all the peoples, the beast to finish its work, in manner that the final trumpet to sound and the Most Waited and Desired to appear on a cloud in glory to start the era of eras. Maranatha!
Iulian Sava