The images of starving children coming from the war zone in Gaza are heartbreaking. Opposition groups in Israel are labeling what is happening genocide. The Israeli Prime Minister claims no children are starving, while other officials, who don’t deny the obvious, blame Hamas for preventing aid from getting to families in need.
I do not doubt that people are praying for food, both in Gaza and around the world. I know I have. So far, war has been prioritized over humanitarian assistance. Other nations are trying to help, but the obstacles have proven to be too great.
Where is God? According to scripture, God is in the pictures, holding the starving children as they take their last breath. Comforting parents as they cry out. And waiting for humanity to show mercy.
The politics of Israel’s circumstances are complicated. Hunger is not.
A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a cabinet member claim that no one has died as a result of the U.S. cutting off funding for the United States Agency for International Development, better known as USAID. While his denial may be good politics, his claim is clothed in camouflage, denial, and lies.
He justified defunding USAID, claiming that our country can no longer afford to borrow money to help other countries while we have so much need here. I was angered and a bit insulted by his oversimplification of our nation’s finances. Does he believe that we’re that stupid?
Especially, after Congress recently passed a bill that experts anticipate will add $2.4 trillion to our national debt, which features massive tax cuts for the most wealthy among us, funding to build numerous prisons, while making substantial cuts for medical assistance to our most vulnerable.
We aren’t borrowing money to help others. We borrow to keep the wealthy from paying their fair share. It’s a matter of perspective. If our priorities were to come out of the gospel instead of the playbook for conservatives, we would say that we can no longer afford to borrow money to finance the wealthy and large corporations. And our tax revenues would first go to support not only the most vulnerable in our country, but also those elsewhere.
God does answer prayers, but there are over eight billion people living on the same planet. God sorts out the requests and focuses on those in need first. Just as scripture says. There is no indication that God first takes care of the wealthy.
Chapter six of our companion book is filled with stories of asking, seeking, and knocking. We begin with Sandi and her husband, Paul, returning to the ashes left from a fire that destroyed their home. Over 2,500 homes were destroyed by five different wildfires in Southern California. Paul prayed that God would give his wife “kisses on the cheek” so she would know that she is still loved.
Her kisses began with finding a picture of her father unharmed, along with her mother’s wedding Bible. Sandi grew up as one of four daughters of missionaries who knew what it was like to face human-made devastation and suffering.
We also meet a pastor trapped in a snowstorm, praying for someone to find him in time, only to be rescued by the owner of the property where he was trespassing. We also meet a mother who, after losing her son, prays and receives a dream that allows her to see her son’s face and find some comfort in her grief. A woman desperately searching for a lost glove, a gift from her deceased sister, finds it after Elaine, working the checkout line, prays that she will find it.
God wants the best for us. In the Book of Jeremiah, God says through the prophet, “ I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for (Jeremiah 29:11).
Matthew tells us that Jesus asks us to consider, “Would any of you who are parents give your children a stone when they ask for bread?” (Matthew 7:9). Of course not.
Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7-12
Jesus goes on to illustrate the contrast between human parents and God’s will for humanity. Of course, God provides for those in need. But God offers you and me the opportunity to participate in God’s plan for heaven on earth. Our priorities matter a great deal to God, and so do our politics.
Jesus began His illustration with this assertion, “Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” There’s a lot to unpack in this statement of fact. And much has been made of His claim, often out of context.
Sadly, our current administration is moving our nation further away from our roots as a people who recognize that God expects us to prioritize care for the most vulnerable and welcome strangers. Our policies now resemble the self-serving cruelty of those nations that we have historically opposed.
Fortunately, most of us see through the lies and manipulation of news sources. And millions are showing up to voice their opposition. Most of all, dire circumstances call for prayers of asking, seeking, and knocking.
For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock (Matthew 7:8). The Lord provides that which we need, helps us to find a way forward when we’re lost, and hears us cry out when we’re hurting.
You can join us each Sunday in person or online by clicking the button on our website’s homepage. Click here to watch. This button takes you to our YouTube channel. You can find more information about us on our website at FlintAsburyChurch.org.
This is a reminder that we publish a weekly newsletter called the Circuit Rider. You can request this publication by email by sending a request to FlintAsburyUMC@gmail.com, or let us know when you send a message through our website. We post an archive of past editions on our website under Connect – choose Newsletters.
Pastor Tommy
Our series was inspired by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, LeAnn Thieman. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Answered Prayers: 101 Stories of Hope, Miracles, Faith, Divine Intervention, and the Power of Prayer. Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul, 2011.