Dear students and friends,
As we all process and grieve the tragic events of this past week near our home, I have heard a couple of you say that your biggest fear is that you would "deny your faith" if you were in a situation like Westgate.
I don't know if everyone will agree with me, but here are some thoughts I hope came from the Spirit today. Read it and pray and think about it, and see what God shows you. In my opinion, He says:
PLEASE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THIS.
If you are ever in a similar situation, where angry ruthless armed men are firing into crowds to terrorize a country and make a political statement, and they start asking people to answer questions or recite verses from the Qran, one of two things will happen.
1. Possibly, in some cases, the Holy Spirit will give you courage and conviction to stand up and even die. YOU CAN NOT PREPARE for this. Nor can you guarantee this will be God's path for you. I believe the Bible promises that at the crucial moment, the words will be given to you as needed (Matt 10:19-20). Rest in the assurance that if God wants you to do this, you will be able to do it.
2. Usually, the God of all compassion will allow you to escape, by running, by reading a verse handed to you by a kind neighbor, by hiding. This is not a denial of faith. The Matthew 10 passage starts by saying we should be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. It is not wrong to preserve life when terrorists try to destroy it. These are people bent on evil and destruction, people with a political agenda about wars and borders and publicity. They are not empowered to examine your beliefs. As a victim, it is heaping harm upon harm to blame yourself or feel guilty. The terrorist agenda is about power, perceived injustice, resources, respect, and while a religious framework is used for justification, it is mostly not a matter of faith. Rest in the assurance of grace, the charitable understanding of God.
In a week of uncertainty, misinformation, horrific photos, gunfire and smoke and funerals and sadness, we do not need more worries.
Instead we need truth. Nothing can separate us from LOVE. We can walk through fire and deep water because in all things we know God is overcoming evil with good, is bending the sadness to create redemption. Not even a hair can fall from your head without His knowledge and permission and ability to work each detail for ultimate good.
Pulling for your healing and courage.
We Are One.
Love, Dr. Jennifer/Mrs. Myhre
As we all process and grieve the tragic events of this past week near our home, I have heard a couple of you say that your biggest fear is that you would "deny your faith" if you were in a situation like Westgate.
I don't know if everyone will agree with me, but here are some thoughts I hope came from the Spirit today. Read it and pray and think about it, and see what God shows you. In my opinion, He says:
PLEASE DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THIS.
If you are ever in a similar situation, where angry ruthless armed men are firing into crowds to terrorize a country and make a political statement, and they start asking people to answer questions or recite verses from the Qran, one of two things will happen.
1. Possibly, in some cases, the Holy Spirit will give you courage and conviction to stand up and even die. YOU CAN NOT PREPARE for this. Nor can you guarantee this will be God's path for you. I believe the Bible promises that at the crucial moment, the words will be given to you as needed (Matt 10:19-20). Rest in the assurance that if God wants you to do this, you will be able to do it.
2. Usually, the God of all compassion will allow you to escape, by running, by reading a verse handed to you by a kind neighbor, by hiding. This is not a denial of faith. The Matthew 10 passage starts by saying we should be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. It is not wrong to preserve life when terrorists try to destroy it. These are people bent on evil and destruction, people with a political agenda about wars and borders and publicity. They are not empowered to examine your beliefs. As a victim, it is heaping harm upon harm to blame yourself or feel guilty. The terrorist agenda is about power, perceived injustice, resources, respect, and while a religious framework is used for justification, it is mostly not a matter of faith. Rest in the assurance of grace, the charitable understanding of God.
In a week of uncertainty, misinformation, horrific photos, gunfire and smoke and funerals and sadness, we do not need more worries.
Instead we need truth. Nothing can separate us from LOVE. We can walk through fire and deep water because in all things we know God is overcoming evil with good, is bending the sadness to create redemption. Not even a hair can fall from your head without His knowledge and permission and ability to work each detail for ultimate good.
Pulling for your healing and courage.
We Are One.
Love, Dr. Jennifer/Mrs. Myhre
2 comments:
I love this so much.
I was living in Jos, Nigeria in 2001 during a week-long, intense religious (and tribal) riot. Hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed and the stories we heard were horrifying and awful. I was fresh out of college and had never considered how I would handle facing death at the hands of a Muslim radical. But the Holy Spirit prepared my heart to face whatever might happen. Ultimately, as a missionary, I was not a part or target of the conflict, but it's amazing how God gives us just what we need for the battle we are facing. You're right, you can't prepare beyond knowing and trusting the Holy Spirit's guidance. And He is our perfect guide.
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