Sunday, March 22, 2009

Hell is Going to Hell: In Darfur

Hell is not where you think it is. For hundreds of thousands of Africans seeking refuge in crowded camps, Hell is spelled, "Darfur"; and as bad as it is it just got worse. Hell is going to hell in the Sudan.
Omar el-Bashir, the president of Sudan in Africa has recently expelled thousands of volunteer aid workers whom he has accused as spies. Bashir claims they were collecting information on the atrocities taking place in Darfur (in the western part of Sudan) and sharing this information with the world court which has issued an arrest warrant for Bashir in which the court alleges acts of murder, rape, and starvation by Arabs against the African citizens of Darfur.
What this means to the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Darfur is the closing of medical clinics, a shortage of food and safe drinking water. The ravaging of the western Darfur region of Sudan has been ongoing since 2003.
Western countries courteously wring their hands as a sign of pretended concern while the most vulnerable (the very young and very old) fall victim to another episode of man's inhumanity to man.
Perhaps I am too reactive to conditions like these but over the world they are legion. (It is nearly midnight but I could not sleep and had to get up and empty my mind and spirit on this matter.) But really; what can I do? Nothing, I fear. There is nothing I see that I can do to lessen the suffering of even one soul who is so unfortunate as to be under the heel of Bashir and his goons.
Well....perhaps there is one thing, and I was talking to God about it earlier today. I can determine NOT to be an ally of Satan in his unholy attacks against mankind. I can determine to live in such a way that Satan is forced to flee when I am targeted because Jesus Christ is in me and with me. I can decide to be on the side of God and send monies each month to humanitarian agencies that are working where and how they can even in the face of nearly overwhelming evil.
There is so much that is wrong in the world; so much starvation, so much suffering; so much murder and rape by rebels of all stripes,that (as I have said) only the mind of God can process it all without being overwhelmed by the enormity and sum of it all.
The children; its the children who are made to suffer that tears at my heart: The innocents, the helpless, the most vulnerable.
Some have to be asking, "Where is God in all this?" and that's a valid question; there is a valid answer. Here is one small part of the answer: The oppressors in Darfur are Arabs and thus are the offspring of Ishmael of whom the Bible says, "...He shall be a wild man; His hand [shall be] against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." [Genesis 16:12].
Bible prophecy does not justify this evil; it warns us of its approach and its unraveling effect of millions of lives. In every generation there is always a personified Evil named Omar el-Bashir or some other name. Sudan is a problem for Christians and other people of conscience; more so for Christians I posit, because of Christ in the mind. We feel what He feels, and that is more powerful than mere man-made sympathy.
Again there is nothing I can do in or for Darfur at this moment except to live for Christ. This will be my small but consistent counterbalance to this great evil that feeds on the lives of the innocents.
Even so Lord, come quickly. Amen
e.c.

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