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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“I, even I, am He who comforts you.
Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, that
you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the
foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of
the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?”
“For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His name. I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand—who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”
Isaiah 51:12-16
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I read an interview recently
regarding a woman, Ingrid Betancourt, who had been abducted by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) in 2002 and held captive for six and
a half years before she was rescued. In the interview, she details how she wrote
a book about her experience, Even Silence Has an End, which tells of her
captivity experience in which she endured being mocked, chained by the neck,
and drug through the Columbian jungle. The period of adverse treatment and
abuse led her to a spiritual awakening that dispelled her fears and brought her
the kind of comfort that only the Lord can bring. Here are a few excerpts from
that interview by the Religion News Service:
Q: What was your prayer life like?
A: At the beginning it was very eclectic. I didn't really have a spiritual discipline, but once I accepted that this abduction was going to last for longer than I thought, after a year I began reading the Bible. For the first time in my life I read it from the first page to the last. It transformed my relationship with God.
My days would have two, three, sometimes more hours a day of just meditation. I was alone I could do a very thorough introspection. I discovered spirituality, something that meant something to me and was not the ritual of the religion. It changed my life.
Q: Was there ever a point where you felt like God didn't hear your prayers?
A: Probably during the first year, but it wasn't God not hearing my prayers, it was me not hearing him.
A: At the beginning it was very eclectic. I didn't really have a spiritual discipline, but once I accepted that this abduction was going to last for longer than I thought, after a year I began reading the Bible. For the first time in my life I read it from the first page to the last. It transformed my relationship with God.
My days would have two, three, sometimes more hours a day of just meditation. I was alone I could do a very thorough introspection. I discovered spirituality, something that meant something to me and was not the ritual of the religion. It changed my life.
Q: Was there ever a point where you felt like God didn't hear your prayers?
A: Probably during the first year, but it wasn't God not hearing my prayers, it was me not hearing him.
Q: What brought you comfort during
your captivity?
A: My faith was my first source of comfort -- the understanding and trusting in God. The idea that even if I couldn't understand why I was there and that it seemed so unfair to be in that situation, there was this God who could see beyond my pain and that was taking care of me in a way that made my ordeal part of his project.
A: My faith was my first source of comfort -- the understanding and trusting in God. The idea that even if I couldn't understand why I was there and that it seemed so unfair to be in that situation, there was this God who could see beyond my pain and that was taking care of me in a way that made my ordeal part of his project.
Q: Did you talk about God with your
captors?
A: Yes, I talked about God a lot. I'm not skilled to spread the word of God; I don't know how to do it. I was facing communist people, which would be very adamant about making clear that they didn't believe in God.
Many of the guerillas who were acting as my guards and officially were not supposed to believe in God would come to me with words that were very astonishing. They would whisper things like "I am praying for you. I cannot say 'I believe in God,' but I truly believe in God and know that one day you will be free."
The time of bondage became a time of faith restoration and edification for Ingrid but also a time of faith discovery for her captors. The Lord was at work in the midst of her hardships, bringing her comfort while reaching into the hearts of those who were oppressing her.
A: Yes, I talked about God a lot. I'm not skilled to spread the word of God; I don't know how to do it. I was facing communist people, which would be very adamant about making clear that they didn't believe in God.
Many of the guerillas who were acting as my guards and officially were not supposed to believe in God would come to me with words that were very astonishing. They would whisper things like "I am praying for you. I cannot say 'I believe in God,' but I truly believe in God and know that one day you will be free."
The time of bondage became a time of faith restoration and edification for Ingrid but also a time of faith discovery for her captors. The Lord was at work in the midst of her hardships, bringing her comfort while reaching into the hearts of those who were oppressing her.
Six and a half years is a long time
but now imagine the Israelite people having to endure seventy years of oppressive
exile in a foreign land. It was tough and the people needed the Lord to bring
them the same kind of comfort that He had brought Ingrid more than 2,000 years
later. As we see from our scriptures today, we find He does just that:
“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere
mortals, human beings who are but grass, that you forget the Lord your Maker, who
stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you
live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is
bent on destruction?”
“For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord Almighty is His name. I have put My words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of My hand—who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” Isaiah 51:12-16
So what is the message the Lord is
sending to His people in bondage?
I believe it is simply this: Don’t
forget that I am the Lord God Almighty and have no fear for there is nothing
beyond the work of My hands.
The Lord in speaking to the
Israelites (as well as us) wants us to remember the following:
1. He is our comforter.
I, even I, am He who comforts you.
The Lord is our only true source of
consolation during times of difficulty. No one gives us the encouragement and
hope that He does.
2. We need not fear mere mortal
human beings.
Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays
the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because
of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction?
If God is for us, who can stand
against us? (Romans 8:31) Certainly no one in this world, that’s for sure. And
yet we too often forget that we have an almighty Lord who is with us and is
working things out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). The
Israelites feared their captors. We fear any other number of things that can
come against us. Through His word, God reminds us that we are to stand firm in
our faith and keep our trust in Him, the One who stretched out the heavens and
laid the foundation of the earth, the One that everything in the world is
subordinate to, and the One who possesses the power and strength to bring all things
to submission at the display of His power and strength.
3. He is our liberator.
“For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will
soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.
For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the
Lord Almighty is His name.
Ingrid Betancourt maintained her
hope that the Lord would free her from the bondage of captivity and the Lord
did just that. It was not His will that she die at the hands of her captors and
although she was being held against her will, the Lord sustained her and kept
her alive. Eventually, at the Lord’s appointed time, He arranged for Ingrid’s
release, just as He did for the people of Israel, the cowering prisoners who
were eventually released by King Cyrus and allowed to return to their homeland after
the Persians overthrew the Babylonians
The Lord will liberate us as well
from our circumstances at the time He so deems. In between, we only need to
turn to Him in faithful prayer and allow Him to fortify our confidence and
reliance in Him, the Lord God Almighty who can do all things.
4. He puts His words in our mouths.
I have put My words in your mouth.
God always gives us His words. We
can either read them through the scriptures, receive them through the Holy
Spirit, or have them imparted on us through a combination of those provisions.
We really have no excuse for not receiving the words of the Lord and when we
do, we find wisdom and encouragement and conviction and truth as to how we are to
live this thing called life.
God wanted the Israelites to
remember His words because they contained the promises they needed to sustain
themselves in the midst of their circumstances. The same applies to us today
and as we saw through Ingrid’s testimony, she did just that, clinging to the
words of the Lord for hope during her abduction period.
5. He grants us protection.
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand.
Friends, God is our great Protector
and very present help in times of trouble. Even in the midst of hardship, we
need to find solace and shelter in the shadow of His mighty hand and know we
are not alone for He is always with us. In the Lord, we can always find hope.
Friends, the Lord is speaking to us
in a powerful way today and expecting we will put His message into action
through the way we handle the difficulties of life, no matter how severe they
might be. For in the end translation, we need to always remember that the Lord
is with us and for us - providing us comfort, dispelling our fears, bringing us
freedom, placing His words in our mouths, and providing protection, now and
forever more.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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