“O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: “Hear me! Answer! Help me!” Psalm 130:1-2
Dear Friends,
I’ve been thinking much about despair lately. With suicides and addiction relapse increasing dramatically, businesses shutting down and huge unemployment numbers it’s easy to see why one might despair. The world can be a very dark and ugly place. I believe though that the illusion is that the world is never NOT a dark and ugly place.
It’s our human nature to only notice the pain of this world when it’s impacting us. We’re all guilty. However, the reality is that over the last decade somewhere between 800,000 to one million Christians around the world (depending on what source you read) have been killed for their faith in Jesus Christ! Let that sink in for a moment. 800,000-1,000,000! Those are real people; mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. They are not just statistics! If you claim to be a follower of Jesus those are your brothers and sisters!
So when you look around the United States today remember that we as believers are starting to get a taste of what’s been going on around the world for a long time. I’m not suggesting that we should rejoice in what we see around us. In fact I think we should be grieving over the condition of the world. When Jesus looked out over Jerusalem and cried out “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37) should our response not be the same? Despair is a common trait among the young men and women we serve at LifeQuest. It’s why suicide and addiction are far too familiar to them. Yet we offer the only hope for them and for others around the world today. Jesus said “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). And isn’t that what we’re all seeking in the midst of the insanity whether it be in the world around us or in our own personal lives? The hope of Jesus is the answer for our world, for our kids, and for each of us individually!
Let me leave you with these words from 1 Peter 5:8-10: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
“Thank you for your continued prayers and support for LifeQuest!
Serving Together,
John D. Jones
President/CEO LifeQuest
505-341-9383 (O)
505-410-8988 (C)