Your father-in-law was imprisoned for his
faith and your mother-in-law was denied her diploma from the university because
of hers. What about your adopted son that is now six but you weren’t allowed to
adopt until two years ago? This is the reality of a country who is still
figuring out what life is like now. The walls are down, the Red Flag has left,
but the dust is still falling, leaving them coughing and stumbling to see
through. 
us stand out in this town. One of the biggest things she told me was that we
always had smiles on our faces and looked happy. Really? The more I am learning
about life in the Ukraine the heavier my heart becomes for them. Lack of jobs,
poor paying jobs, a government still learning to stand on its own and many
other factors have been explained to us as the reasons for such “gloomy”
people. What is even more a factor is the lack of the One who can bring true
joy.
Coming from three months in countries that
know the word joy more than any other people I know to the exact opposite has
been quite an adjustment. In Africa these people lived in mud huts, cooked over
open flame, barely had clothes or food for themselves or their family, yet the
smiles never seemed in a shortage. Here, the food and clothes are plenty, and
the concrete building and stoves (and even refrigerators) are all around, yet
the faces are fallen and stone.
What is it? What is it about our human race
that is so confusing? It’s something that so many of us know the answers to,
but what are we doing with those answers? Pray with me and let’s claim these
verses and any more that you would like to add. Let’s pray the joy of the Lord
over these people and not stop until it is flowing out of this country.
Psalm 51:12 – Restore to me the joy of my
salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Jeremiah 31:13 – I will turn their mourning
into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Ecclesiastes 7:14 – when times are good, be
happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the
other.
Luke 2:10 – But the angel said to them, “Do
not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the
people.
Please comment with any more verses you
would like to contribute; verses of encouragement.
