Like the whole world, I’m transfixed by the David and Goliath conflict in Ukraine and how it has illustrated truth I know, but need to trust as if my life depended on it, as if I were fighting my own war.
Lessons:
1.) Character tested by suffering produces perseverance that rests on hope.
2.) Leaders are called to serve their people rather than use them for personal gain.
3.) No one likes a bully because bullies rule based on fear rather than loyalty.
4.) Right matters. In fact, the righteousness of one inspires righteousness in others.
5.) Courage is contagious. One brave heart stirs many into battle.
6.) Use what you have and leave the results to God.
7.) United we stand, divided we fall. We’re greater together than the sum of our parts.
8.) Children are treasures that must be kept safe.
9.) Moms and dads are warriors in their own way. Both can fight for peace and freedom.
10.) We’re all brothers and sisters, and what hurts one hurts us all.
11.) Naked we’re born; naked we die. We need no more than what’s packed in a suitcase.
12.) Evil is a cancer that spreads unless cut out and cauterized.
13.) Our true enemies aren’t of this world, but spiritual forces of darkness and deception.
14.) Yet nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
I think it was Plato who said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
Sisters, no matter what Goliath you’re fighting in your private war, remember it was God who directed David’s smooth stone, and Goliath fell dead.
So, let’s pray for each other and the people of Ukraine and Russia for Jesus calls us to be more than kind–to love our friends and enemies.
“The most important commandment is this:
Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”
Mark 12: 29-31 (NLT)
Cover photo by Антон Дмитриев on Unsplash
Such wonderful reminders, Beautiful yet sad I applaud the writer thank you.
Thanks Olive for your response. I will pray for you during this trying time. How did you find my site? Oh, are you a friend of Collette Allen?Welcome!
Good, good, hopeful words.
And my mind goes to Hebrews 11, because some Goliaths “win” (for now).
“Some escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.[…] Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two,fn they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”
Yes, Abagail, absolutely. I just re-read Hebrews chapter 11 at your suggestion, and love this part especially. No matter what happens in Ukraine, this is true for all believers. Hope is evidence of things unseen. “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Ann, thank you. Your writing is so meaningful and trustworthy. As Ann says, “I think it was Plato who said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”
Sisters, no matter what Goliath you’re fighting in your private war, remember it was God who directed David’s smooth stone, and Goliath fell dead.
So, let’s pray for each other and the people of Ukraine and Russia for Jesus calls us to be more than kind–to love our friends and enemies.”
Thank you, again.
Thanks again Linda!