Discouraged. Disheartened. Depressed. Dismayed.
What is the nature of my downcast soul? I'm not sure. But it has something to do with the fact that life is not fair. I'm not really referring to a personal injustice. I'm talking more along the lines of injustice on a worldwide scale: perpetrators abusing children, society devaluing women, citizens marginalizing foreigners. It just gets to me sometimes. The unfairness. The injustice. The senselessness of it all.
Why can't people just be nice?!
So I contemplate their plight. I cry out to God on their behalf. And I wonder, “What can I do to be a part of the solution?” But then, today I found myself asking God to take away these feelings. I can't deal with them anymore! There's too much heartache, too much pain, and it's too big a burden for me to bear.
It's just too much.
And then I waited. And I thought. And I considered, what if maybe, just maybe, God made my soul this sensitive for a reason. Not so that I could worry, mind you. But so that I would be too uncomfortable with turning away from the plight of the disadvantaged. Perhaps, in this way God is giving me a gift. The gift of a glimpse into his soul.
Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him . . . Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. Exodus 22:21-23
God has heard the cry of the orphan, the widow, and the alien. So have I. And truth be told, so have many. Therefore, I will continue to do what I have done. I will pray daily for their liberation. Give tangibly to their felt needs. Teach practically to enlighten the church. Challenge thoughtfully the biases of our culture. And work together with others to alleviate their plight.
Yes, that is what I will do.
What will you do?
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24
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