[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during March 2022]
I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound;
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us [1].
For all of my life to date there have been wars and rumours of wars, but they have been at a safe distance. Insurrections and violent unrest has been sufficiently far away to be simply items of news and perhaps prayer; even the troubles in Northern Ireland were, for the most part, over the water. Now I am sitting just 15 miles from a country that is fighting for its survival and knowing that we too could become a target if a single man decided that would help achieve his ambitions.
Throughout history people have lived with the threat of war, whether declared or implied, and our own times are no exception. Human attempts to bring peace usually have limited success and are often temporary. Where is the Prince of Peace when you need him?
In his discourse on times and seasons the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace [2].
Does this mean that war is part of God’s plan? Surely that does not fit with our preferred image of him but we have to recognise that there have been times when he has allowed strife to illustrate the consequences of mankind’s inherent sinfulness. Nevertheless, that does not imply that the victims of aggression are any worse sinners than others; we all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s requirements.
Where is the Prince of Peace when you need him? Are we not his representatives? Sometimes it is necessary for the strong to make sacrifices in order to help those who are weaker. What sacrifices are we willing to make? There may well be occasions to use force to resist aggression but we claim that prayer is the most powerful weapon in our arsenal; are you ‘weapons-trained’, are you willing to use it?
In Exodus 17 we see Joshua leading the people of God in a fight against an aggressing force. As long as Moses held up his arms in an attitude of prayer, Joshua’s army prevailed; when the prayer lapsed the advantage went to the enemy. Last Sunday a more contemporary Joshua asked us to pray to God to intervene in the situation developing in eastern Europe. Subsequent events have emphasised the urgency of that call.
A final thought. In first-century Damascus the early Christians were fearing the arrival of Saul, a man who believed that his violent actions were justified. Who would have thought that their deliverance would come through the conversion of that same man? Can God do the same now?
[1]: Habakkuk 3 v16
[2]: Eccesiates 3 v8.
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © the Author
In the light of the present events in the Ukraine this is a most appropriate reflection based on
Biblical scripture. May the Lord be with you and your family and friends in your particular village.
Thanks. I was in Chedgrave, Norfolk on Sunday. At the end of the service we all stood whilst the Ukrainian National Anthem was played splendidly on the organ. It was most moving. I always enjoy your messages and sometimes pass them on to people. I hadn’t realised you were only 15 miles from the border!
Priscilla