War is devastating. War destroys almost everything in its path.
War is not God’s original plan. War is the ugly reality that God has allowed through history to help wake humans to their inability to manage themselves and their need for a Savior and a Lord.
The enemy loves war and all the “...kill[ing], steal[ing], and destroy[ing]....” God is greater than any mischief and carnage that the world, the flesh, and the enemy can create.
We see God using the Ukrainian-Russia conflict to wake up and remind people that He is God and they need not depend on the comforts and controls in this life.
We, too, are wise if we continually remember this unyielding Biblical truth about life on this planet.
Melissa Durr has written about her 5-year-old granddaughter, Charli, sitting alone on her new teeter-totter. With a very sad face, Charli said, “I can teeter…but I can’t totter.”
This world may be able to live without God, but they will never LIVE without Him. Humanity desperately needs God’s love, mercy and truth in their lives, or war on some level breaks out and kills, steals, and destroys.
Sometimes we need the difficulties of life to cause us to experience God’s goodness and truth in ways that are not intuitive to us.
Allow me to share a short example of this via a story that ITMI’s Charl van Wyk recently shared.
“I’m now teaching the Soldiers for Christ young men [from the Stone Hill settlement] Biblical money management, including tithing and how blessing others is of primary importance in our walk with the Lord – you are aware that these young men have been brought up surrounded by a world of mismanagement of all resources - a world of taking and never giving.
They’ve been perplexed, then concerned, and now reporting back on how they are blessing others.
Another example: one of the ‘soldiers’ asked me for money for food. I questioned him regarding this need and found out that he was hungry due to his own laziness, incompetence, and lack of resourcefulness.
They get fed at school, but he didn’t want to stand in the long queue.
We also feed the children in the squatter camp every day, and his grandmother and siblings sit around watching TV– I explained that I wouldn’t feed him because his siblings could stand in our ministry feeding queue and keep food for him when he arrived home from school. He could also join the queue at school.
Two weeks later he was the first to run up to my car when I arrived in the township, with a big smile on his face; he had access to food and appeared very happy.
All he needed was someone to point out his illogical thinking, laziness, entitlement mentality and lack of time management - and how his hunger was a result of these issues.
Stone Hill, South Africa
Stone Hill youth enjoy a nutritious meal.
God’s truth is our only hope. It is the lost world’s only hope. It is not always easy, but God knows what is best for us and His ways are always better than ours.
Thank you for helping us help the nationals who do the frontline ministry among the lost and needy. We couldn’t do it without you.
In His Service,
Steve Evers has advocated for and served the ITMI partners as ITMI Director since 2001. Approximately once a year, Steve visits with ITMI partners in their countries and brings stories back to encourage supporters. Steve enjoys photography and mechanics, (both hobbies that have greatly benefited ITMI partners!) Prior to becoming ITMI's Director, Steve served on the Board of Directors for 4 years. Steve lives in Arizona with his wife, Darlene.
