for the Pygmies & the rest of the broken world

Last week, I cried for the Pygmies in Africa.

I was waiting to talk to someone about my car insurance when I found a recent issue of the Smithsonian in their office. I randomly opened to an article about the plight of these precious human beings, treated like animals because they different. Pygmies are a people group that consist of full grown men and women who are no bigger than average sized children. The article said that they were in danger of extinction; victims of slavery, genocide and cannibalism-- their numbers are rapidly dwindling. When I saw their faces, my heart broke for them. While I wondered why God would allow this to happen to them, I also knew that it was His Spirit that stirred my heart when I read that article. It was His Spirit that prompted me to pray for them and to continue to pray for them even now.

I know that God has seen and heard the cries of these people. And while the hearts of men are evil, that there is no one who can please God apart from Christ, I believe that there are those who suffer needlessly. But I am no better than the Pygmies. I am not more human than they are. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that I can sit here, alive and well, without any significant worries.

If I ask God if this is "fair," of course, I know the answer. The Bible is clear about the righteousness of God and that He has the right to do what He needs to do in order to glorify Himself, that He is control of all things. I know that because of Adam's sin, the world is broken and therefore has been subjected to pain and suffering. But knowing the right answers isn't enough. It's easy to explain away such terrible things when my own family is not being eaten or tormented just for being a little different.

God, I know that You are good. You are sovereign, just and holy. You are righteous and set high above the reach of human understanding. Yet by your grace, compassion, love and mercy, You gave us Your Son, who came to Earth in human form, to experience life as a human being even in death, so that we may know Your love for us as You gave us Your Son to die for our iniquities, that once separated us from You, but in Christ, we have been reconciled to You. I confess my sins to You, LORD. I have loved myself too much and loved You too little. Forgive me, Father. In Your name, I ask that You would be with the Pygmies. I pray for comfort for them, LORD. I pray that You would reveal Yourself to them, LORD. I pray that they would know the name of Christ. I pray that You would deliver them from their plight and that You would send people to come to their aid. God, I ask that You would stir up others to pray for them and for the rest of the broken world. I pray that You would help us Christians to take up our responsibility to care for those who are in need. God, may we care for the things that You care about. For to love others selflessly brings You glory. And God, I ask that we would love others out of our heart's desire to obey You. For You are great and if not for Christ, then we labor and love in vain. Help us to rest in Your grace, to dwell in Your grace and to live by Your grace. Help us to show the world who You are, by living lives that reflect the mercy and compassion that You have shown us.

In Christ's name I pray,
Amen.