I absolutely love the song “With Everything” by Hillsong (as evident by my blog post awhile back with the song on it 🙂 ). Part of the lyrics include the phrase “let hope rise, and darkness tremble.” As I was listening to it this morning on the way to our ministry, a van drove by on the opposite side of the road with the word “HOPE” painted on it. The van passed me literally at the same time the phrase “let hope rise” was playing. I felt Jesus tingles (some people call them goosebumps). 🙂 And then it struck me: in a country with an estimated 2% of the population professing to be Christians, there is so little hope.
This past weekend we toured the “Killing Fields.” From 1975-1979 over two million men, women and children were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge regime, and as we walked on the blood-soaked ground I kept wondering if the victims had any hope at all. My heart broke over and over thinking that not only did the victims suffer physically, but if they didn’t know Jesus then they literally were left in horrific, spiritual hopelessness. I truly can’t imagine being in such a place of utter emotional darkness.
This past weekend we toured the “Killing Fields.” From 1975-1979 over two million men, women and children were tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge regime, and as we walked on the blood-soaked ground I kept wondering if the victims had any hope at all. My heart broke over and over thinking that not only did the victims suffer physically, but if they didn’t know Jesus then they literally were left in horrific, spiritual hopelessness. I truly can’t imagine being in such a place of utter emotional darkness.
There is no way I can relate to what people in Cambodia have experienced, whether it is those who survived the genocide to women enslaved in trafficking. But I can bring His Hope; I can speak and show His Love. And He can restore what has been destroyed. He can move mountains, heal the lame, turn mourning into dancing. Jesus is Hope. His blood has sealed what is to come; no matter what this world holds, He offers us salvation. Knowing Him means our future is sure and secure. Only through Him can true healing begin. Let Hope rise… 🙂
