Sometimes I wonder if the enemy is winning.
Thoughts I imagine going through your head at this point:
What a horrible way to start a blog post!
I really need to write an encouraging comment on this page.
I’ve wondered the same thing.
Maybe, but Jesus will ultimately win in the end!
To be honest I agree with all of the above.
Today I found myself running out of my office, into blizzard conditions, to attempt to stop a guy from roughing up his girl. She was pleading to go home because she was cold. He kept screaming at her to shut up and keep walking. He backed off when I first attempted to intervene, she resisted my help. After they left the parking lot, their fight got worse. I pursued them on foot to help again, but the guy quickly told me to go away… using more colorful language then this blog would allow.
Tuesday I hung out with a high school student who told me he had to spend the previous week with his father, in Hastings, because his mother was arrested for striking an officer.
Thursday I hung out with a kid who should have been taking exams, but was instead suspended from school for reasons I don’t fully understand.
I’ve received texts and phone calls all week from a mother who is “concerned” about her son, but is really trying to control him in every way possible.
In the last two months I’ve seen families destroyed by the chaos of sin.
Last night I saw kids who didn’t care about Jesus, or the leaders trying to love them.
Tuesday I worked with a fifth grader who can’t read. A FIFTH GRADER WHO CAN’T READ!!! I feel horrible for him, and at the same time, I find myself feeling angry because his mother doesn’t always make him go to school, and thus he falls further behind.
This has been a rough week, but it isn’t a new trend. Sin is tearing people up. Sometimes I really do wonder why God allows the enemy the opportunities he does. At the same time I trust in God’s plan for redemption, even if it moves slower than I would like. I also know that God is on the move, and he will ultimately win.
Why am I telling you all this? Because I need you to pray with me. I need you to pray for the youth and families we work with. Many families are under the assault of sin, and they need God to intervene.
Today I was pointed at Psalm 10 & 13, which I think offer some good words of prayer for the situations I’ve listed above.
“How Long, Lord?”
“Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
“Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless… See the trouble of the afflicted; consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would otherwise not be found.”
“You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere mortals will never again strike terror.”
God we look forward to seeing your redemption play out in the lives of your children. Protect, defend, and encourage them. Help them to rest in you. I ask that they would experience the perfect love of Christ. God, I also ask you that you would help us to love the children well, and never give up on them, like you never give up on us.
Amen.
