Good morning…
I love this image from Kate Bowler’s devotional for the week. The picture gently holds hands with title of her email. “Joy is the oxygen for doing hard things.” This subject line is a quote from Gary Haugen who runs International Justice Mission, “a non-profit organization committed to liberating vulnerable individuals from the clutches of modern slavery and human trafficking across the globe.” On the wall of their office lives the following Kate Bowler blessing.
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BLESSED are you
WHO LET YOUR HEART BREAK.
YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO.
You could just have easily skirted the issue,
shrugged it off as someone else’s
responsibility, someone else’s to fix.
BUT YOU DIDN’T.
You asked the hard question,
bore witness to the brutality,
sat in the waiting room,
advocated for the victims,
no matter how awkward or difficult or
costly the confrontation would be.
– Kate Bowler’s Blessing
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We who are active prayer warriors, we sit beside people in the dark, waiting for God’s light to dawn. We don’t skirt the issues, we don’t shrug off people’s immense pain as someone else’s responsibility, someone else’s brokenness to fix. We ask the hard question. We bear witness to life’s brutality. We advocate for the vulnerable. No matter how awkward or difficult or costly the confrontation, we step in close with wordless prayers for those who are brokenhearted. We let our own hearts break open with joy as God uses our presence to put flesh on a promise: The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken. He saves those whose spirits have been crushed (Psalm 34:18, NIRV).
With hearts broken open, we walk with the brokenhearted. We are prayer warriors empowered by God. The joy that the Lord gives you will make you strong (Nehemiah 8:10b, GNT). As Gary and Kate completely understand: “Joy is the oxygen for doing hard things.”
…Sue…
