How Long, O Lord?
I confess I had to think through my weekly greeting this morning. As you know, Thursday we woke to the the news that Russia invaded Ukraine. Is it really a "Happy Friday"? I stuck with the greeting because we know that while the nations rage and peoples plot in vain, our God still rules and reigns from his throne! It is this fact that enables us to cry out with the psalmist: "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" (Psalm 13:1–2).
The psalmist David was a man of war and certainly knew in times of war to cry out to his God. Dr. Tom Gibbs, President of Covenant Seminary, reflects on these heart cries in scripture: "That such questions appear in Scripture reminds us that God not only understands our plight but validates the inscrutability of our suffering. More than that, however, God intends our questions to stir our faith and lead us to more dependent prayer. As we do, we discover that there is always a subtext to the profound suffering and evil experienced in this world. That subtext, of course, is God’s sovereign, gracious, and redemptive purpose centered on our perfect King, Jesus Christ, and the victory of the cross. Despite injustice, wars, or the evil of kings, thankfully, a deeper wisdom guides this world."
These truths, these reflections, certainly stir the heart. But I also know many are asking, "What can we do practically?". For starters, we continue with our rhythms of worship. This week we are focusing on Global Missions and Dr. Thurman Williams will be with us to open the Word and open our hearts to God's global work. As we sing and pray in union with Christ, we plant a flag of faith to the glory of God.
In addition, I want to commend a couple of initiatives that the PCA has put together:
Ukraine MTW Team Zoom Call - Doug & Masha Shepherd are Mission to the World (MTW) team leaders in Lviv, Ukraine, where they serve along with other alumni. They are hosting an open Zoom call at 3pm EST this Sunday to talk about the current situation and how you can pray. This is a good opportunity to hear directly from missionaries involved.
Ukraine Disaster Relief - learn more by visiting this MTW created webpage with regular updates from their Ukraine team where you can also give directly to the disaster relief plans they are quickly having to develop.
Let me close by again quoting Dr. Gibbs: "None of us can say what will occur in Ukraine or the world in the days ahead, but we can be confident in the character of our God who hears the prayers of his children and will finally extinguish the presence of evil."
Photo by Simeon Jacobson on Unsplash