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May 4 (May the fourth be with you.) GRIN! Expand Awareness


A poor man’s field may produce an abundant crop, but injustice will sweep it away. ~Proverbs 13:23

Arise, O Lord, in Your anger. Rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice. Let the assembled peoples gather around You. Rule over them from on high. Let the Lord judge the peoples. Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure. ~Psalm 7:6-9  

Well, last Fall, the news seemed to be full of the horrors of the fires in Australia. To hear it from our usual media sources, Australia was going to burn up to nothing. We didn’t hear much about the fact that Australia has fires similar to this almost every year. There just wasn’t much else of interest to whip us into a panic about.

Now the news is unending about Corona Virus. According to some news sources it comes across as though we’re all going to get it and we’re all going to die, it’s just a matter of when! So, just curious, have you heard much about the plague of locusts threatening the crops of the poor in East Africa and the middle East? Probably not, or at least, not much.

Back on March 13 it was reported: “Hundreds of Billions of Locusts Are Swarming Through East Africa, Iran and Pakistan in the Worst Plague for a Quarter of a Century, Threatening Crops and Livelihoods” These insects of the apocalypse eat their own body weight in food every day. And they are breeding so fast that numbers could grow four hundredfold by June. In January, the UN appealed for $76m to tackle the crisis. That figure has now risen to $138m. But so far, only $52m has been received. What is happening there is also a tragedy. On top of the locusts, they also have issues with Covid 19. In fact, Covid 19 is a compounding issue that is preventing them from doing much to fight the locusts.

Why am I mentioning this? I see what is happening with the people in East Africa as an apt example of our Proverb today. “A poor man’s field may produce an abundant crop, but injustice will sweep it away.” Where is the injustice? Well, many of the victims of this plague live under oppressive regimes. That is injustice. Most of the inhabitants are certainly poor. Irrigation is difficult, partly for political reasons and partly due to lack of resources and opportunity. That is injustice. That may not seem to have much to do with the locusts. But it has a lot to do with how well the poor folks recover from this plague.

My thoughts go in a different direction that has more to do with us. I’m thinking about how few are really aware of their circumstances. They are poor and cannot speak for themselves, but even if they did, how much would we be moved by what they face? WE have been told that our meat prices will probably go up in the near future because of meat shortages due to plant shut-downs. Covid 19 has run rampant through our meat packing plants and that is serious. But plans are already being made to get plants up and running again, because we can.

Consider, how do the victims of a plague of locusts regrow their crops that were intended to sustain them for a year? They are facing entire food shortages, not just a portion of their diet as we are. For so many in our world, their biggest fault is simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Consider those in refugee camps in Lebanon. They have not had a home in years. If they can attend any form of schooling, instruction takes place in tents, while powers they don’t even know fight over control of their lives and land. They can be as good as gold and obedient as the most attentive servant you can imagine, but what they try to build is destroyed and they are powerless to stop it.

I remember reading an article from Voice of the Martyrs once. They were talking about abuse of Christians in a country called, Eritrea. I hadn’t even heard of that country before, and yet, spiritual brothers and sisters there, wherever “there” is, were undergoing persecution and I was clueless. I had to look it up on a map to get an inkling of its location. I began thinking about how little I really know about the suffering around me. I started thinking, here is a country that I had not heard of, but the people who live there are created in the same image of God as me. How had I not known? Well, we simply can’t know everything.

Then, I was humbled by the thought, God knows. He doesn’t need my prayers so that He will be made aware of the evil and injustice around me. He appreciates my prayers when they show that I am finally aware of more of the world than my own little corner of it. That day, I truly gave thanks that God is all knowing. I also became humbly aware of how little I truly know.  

It is good that we want to address the needs around us. We do even better, however, when we make ourselves aware of injustice beyond ourselves. So many are hurting through no fault of their own. So many are suffering and living under oppressive regimes that go against their will. We chafe under our minor restrictions, but this is not a life-time oppression. Perhaps, however, we now have a taste of what so many less fortunate people face as a way of life. Hopefully, your prayer list just grew a little longer. It may seem like “the least we can do.” But prayer for them is really a very good starting place!

If you do want to learn more about the plague of locusts, you can start here: https://strangesounds.org/2020/03/locust-plague-east-africa-iran-pakistan-video.html

Prayer: 
Lord give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing. Give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken-hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me Your eyes so I can see. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Song: Let Justice Like Waters Roll Down

Also, the words of the prayer are from: Give Me Your Eyes

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