A hero of the Christian faith (not to mention Judaism and even, to an extent, Islam), David is known as the warrior-poet, a man after God’s own heart, and one of the greatest rulers in all of history. He united peoples, led his nation in worship of the Living God, and even had mess-ups along the way that brought him to repentance and to seek the LORD’s forgiveness.
Did you know that there was often terror in his life? Events and times that would cause any of us to stumble in our faith, to ask our God, “WHAT is going on? WHAT are you doing?” People who had once walked by his side that suddenly either turned and ran or became enemies?
In one of this great poet’s songs, we read – “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.” (II Samuel 22.2-7 ESV)
If you’ve caught any snippets of the news, this morning, you know that terror has, once again, struck in western Europe. The heart of the EU, Brussels, was rocked with twin bombs as people went about their routine of checking in for flights and saying goodbye to loved ones, heading into the office and simply starting their day. As of 9:00am this morning, we know that at least 11 people lost their lives and almost 100 more (if not more) others were injured in the blast within the departure hall at Zaventem Airport, while an hour later another 20 or more were killed and many more injured at the Maelbeek subway station.
Despicable, demonic acts that propitiate the hate of a people towards any and all other people. Threats that became reality under the guise of security. A pit of darkness in a dark world. The stench of a celestial battle being waged right in front of us, most of us too busy, too numb, too apathetic to care. Instead, we read about terror and either go on with our day or sink into thinking, “What is this world coming to?” (I’m usually guilty of the latter)
And yet, from David’s own son, Solomon, we know that there is nothing new under the sun. No new methods in defeating darkness. No new ways in which to terrorize or torture others. No new ways to cause people to fear for their lives. Our enemy, our real enemy, continues to attempt to kill, steal and destroy. And with mornings like this, with success.
So what is our response?
For the believer, our first response mustn’t be seeking blood vengeance. It cannot be in posting our political thoughts on the king we hope for through whatever platform we can broadcast from. It’s certainly not hunkering down in hopes that it will all just “blow over” and that it will somehow pass us by, or is someone else’s problem.
It is prayer.
And not just a small snippet of the day devoted to “unspokens” and brief pleas for more comfort. No, it is a constant seeking of the Lord and his glory to be seen, even amidst brutal, gut and heart-wrenching, dark, barbarous events that shake us to the core. It is begging the Lord to move as we view video clips of dust-filled, body-strewn airport ticket counters. It is looking at the darkness in our own hearts and praying that our God would continue to change us, to move us, to empower us to fight the reality of evil with the hope and glory of the gospel. As individuals and as a people.
“We need to do something!”
Indeed, and it starts here.
1. Pray for those who are hurting, reeling, confused, and struck, first-hand, by these new attacks. Pray that they might be comforted and cared for. Pray that Christians would cling to the LORD and, in that, hold out the hope of the gospel to all they encounter.
2. Pray for God to bring about the destruction of these criminal elements like ISIS, like Al-Shabaab, like the hosts of other cancerous and parasitic cells that remain. May He strike them down where they are through whatever means He might use; but pray that one of the main vehicles for their destruction to be through the proclamation of the gospel and that cold, dead hearts would be made alive in Christ and hundreds of thousands would lay aside their hatred, their desire for bloodshed in the one who took on the terror of God’s wrath and spilled his own blood to ransom His people from the domain of darkness.
3. Pray against the hatred, evil and darkness that creeps up in your own life. As we continue to watch events unfold we like to point our finger and say how terrible these “others” are. Yet, though it’s true that we may never act out the evil that resides in our own hearts in the same way as these people, hatred of any sort will always, always bring about destruction and death. Of our own lives as it consumes us and of others’ as we transmit it.
You may be (rightfully) angered by the news today. You may give in to thoughts of fear and helplessness as you see media posting more and more images of the bloody aftermath of yet another criminal attack on an unsuspecting, naive people. You may want to take up arms, blast others through social media, or talk about political issues that you somehow tie together with the events of this morning.
But in all of this, as Christians, our initial response is to rest in the One who is our fortress, our Rock, our deliverer and the one in whom we find our refuge. It is to pray for those who are hurting and mourn with those who mourn. It is to beg our God to continue to destroy the evil we see through the methods he may use. It is to fight the spiritual battle we are constantly confronted with with the greatest weapons the world may ever know. It is to pray.
Not passively, not hopelessly, not vengefully – but powerfully, with all hope, knowing that the Lord will move and that darkness will be defeated.
#prayingforBrussels