[My Earnest Prayer]

              My soul has been deeply disturbed for some time now. Perhaps the silence of my journal & blog-spot explains as much. In part, I have been rapidly realizing the fractures, schisms, sins, & fundamental evils of this world as if for the first time. The mass slaughtering of innocent lives, murders, beheadings, & inhumane terror around the world has caused my soul to grapple the fear, evil, malice, slander, bigotry, & blasphemy each night as I wrestle the demons of current events. The Paris attacks, San Bernadino shootings, Planned Parenthood shootings, & the Beirut terrorist attacks have consumed my thoughts & prayers.

            Though I have no way made sense of the senseless atrocities, I seek solace in YHWH. I’m reminded that apart form the light darkness abides; where light abides, darkness retreats. Where there is light, darkness cannot be. For if light did not repel the darkness, light would cease to exist. Therefore, virtues such as love & peace exist in this world. However, existing all together the same are evil & violence. Why? Because in order for water to exist in all of its wetness, there must also exist a desert in all of its dryness. But without the wetness of water, the desert’s parched soil would cease to have even its most barren forms of life. For water nourishes dry clay the same as God’s love nourishes our emaciated souls. But if light & water were to exist in all places at all times how could we recognize light or water without first knowing the absence of these? This is the condition of the human soul apart from God: wretched & sinful. But with the nourishment of God's love, we are transformed.

            While our limited intellects see problems with this or prefer it to simply not be the case, I’m reminded of A.W. Tozer’s words of wisdom: “God’s thoughts are not only greater than ours quantitatively, but qualitatively wholly different than ours. God’s thoughts belong to the world of spirit, man’s to the world of intellect, the human intellect can never comprehend spirit. Man’s thoughts cannot cross over into God’s… Many by reason [alone] cannot know God; he can only know about God.”

            Consequently, these tragedies & crises that plague our society raise not only urgent intellectual & pragmatic queries, but it also demands spiritual query & engagement. These events currently happening cannot be comprehended void of spiritual engagement. In the same way that oxygen facilitates human life or the way abstract thought govern human agency, so do spiritual matters drive the course of human events. Often times, things unseen sustain that which is seen. The most rudimentary of examples are our skin cells, which plain to the naked eye, maintains the very fabric of our physical existence. Similarly, our foundation for human happiness lies in our spiritual connectedness & cohesion with God. If we are not connected, our very fabric begins to unravel.

            And so while our human intellect grapple with perplexing questions such as: “Where is God?” or “Why does He allow these atrocities?” or “Why does evil exist if God is good & all powerful?” We must not abandon perhaps the most essential vein of our inquiries: The nature of the Spirit of God [The Holy Spirit]. More importantly, the Spirit of God as it relates to the nature of the spirit of man. It is abundantly clear that mankind is indeed “spirited creatures.”

            In case convincing is needed: Consider quickly humanity’s notion of eternity, ethics, morals, faithfulness, love, government & justice. These attributions remain unique to the human race alone. All of these innate qualities separate us from other animals. Without these, mankind would simply be carnal mammals. Instead, we possess profound notions of eternity. For it is as the book of Ecclesiastes proclaims, “God set eternity in the hearts of man” (3:11). This is, in part, what it means to be made in His image. But if we follow the Scriptural evidence of God’s character as it relates to our own nature we find that apart from the Spirit of God we are “dead in our sins” (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:5, Romans 6:11). But it’s essential to understand what this means.

            Again, Tozer provides insight: “’Dead in sin’ is a description not of the body nor yet of the intellect, but of the organ of God-knowledge within the human soul.” In other words, the consequence of the first sin was not death of the flesh, but rather death of spiritual discernment-- mankind’s ability to know right from wrong. The lines were forever blurred by the serpent; the first con job in recorded history. The cunning serpent gilded death with desire, decorated betrayal with glamour, & presented lies shelled with a thin layer of truth. Ever since the fall, our organs have failed at times to recognize the Creator. And while we should think deeply upon current issues, the most salient truth in its simplest form is this: He is Creator & we are created. He is the light & we are called to be children of the light.

            As long as we remain in Him, he remains in us. But if we stray, if we choose forbidden fruit over Him, our light slowly fades. Eventually, the light given by our Creator fades from our bones & darkness consumes us. So if light expels darkness & darkness eradicates light, we must constantly beware of developing a greyish hue. For it is as Revelation 3:16 condemns the lukewarm: “So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Pragmatically, we must all beware of lukewarm-ness in such times of crises as this. We must be proactive leaders. Whether that mean standing in solidarity or donating supplies to those affected by tragedy, we all must be on the offensive. Without fervent devotion & preparedness we cannot affect change. Thus we are reminded of the necessity & our dependence upon Christ. Apart from Him our light slowly fades & we become swayed too easily from fighting for what is right despite how hard it gets.

            So I encourage you, the reader, to seek after the character of God. Engage in this world beyond physical & intellectual means, but always allow the guidance & prudence of Scriptures & Godly community. Remember the promise of Christ, the vested power of the faithful saints, & the immanence of the Holy Spirit. My earnest prayer of devotion is that God fulfill His covenant promise to His people. Father, echo throughout the earth, in Your Providence guide Your people. “[May] the Lord bless you & keep you; [may] the Lord make His face shine upon you, & be gracious to you; [may] the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, & give you peace” Numbers 6:24-26.

-MGB