Contributed by Adeliyn • Jul 2, 2024
Resonate recently had a team retreat, and during a prayer exercise focused on being “His Beloved,” my reaction was honestly one of pure exhaustion. It was not that I did not know I was beloved; rather, I felt so weary in spirit that this truth remained merely as head knowledge. Beyond my own challenges, the relentless reports of conflicts worldwide, particularly in Gaza, Rakhine and Sudan, weighed down heavily on me. It’s disheartening that some within the faith community dismiss these conflicts as just another geopolitical issue, rather than recognizing them as profound humanitarian crises. Even worse, there are those who support the parties responsible for these atrocities.
In addition to extensive donations to organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières in conflict zones, I have been dismayed to hear from various news channels and citizen reporters that critical humanitarian spaces, such as hospitals and places of worship, are being bombed. The reports indicate doctors were assaulted by the military, ambulance routes were blocked, and routes to escape the conflict were also obstructed. The sanctity of these places have also been violated, with people disguised to ambush and defile the grounds as places that uphold basic human rights and principles of humanitarianism amidst the chaos of war. Humanitarian aid is continuously being withheld from those who need it most by the governments who seek their destruction.
At the end of my reflection, I wrote down these words – My heart may be in ashes, but still He holds the world. As I remind myself that whatever is happening in the world right now is part of what has already been revealed in Revelations, I will continue to do what I can with what I am willing and able, and trust that in the seemingly insignificant things I ordinarily do make a difference when entrusted into His hands.
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I’m calling
Lord, You catch me when I’m falling
And You’ve told me who I am
I am Yours
– Casting Crowns, “Who am I”