The Reality of Darkness... and LIGHT

Saturday mornings are my FAV :) Sleep in until 8 or 9, open the windows, spend a good hour in the Word, receive revelation, write... I love it. It's my weekly rejuvenation. I don't regretfully say this, but this will be my last Saturday morning available for an entire month (seminars & conferences every weekend in March)... so even though I have a list of things I need to accomplish today, I am determined to enjoy it ;)

I rarely watch T.V. In fact, since I've been living on my own (which has been on and off for almost 6 years), I've only ever had basic cable. Ten channels are good enough for me. The main reason I have it is to watch the news, and after I watch the news I sometimes keep the T.V. on, but on mute while I read or write. Last night as I was laying in bed I was flipping channels and stopped when I saw this beaten, 65 year-old woman on the news. She looked like she had just stepped out of 10 boxing matches... from her nose up she was black and purple, swollen and cut up. Her house had been broken into, her money and credit cards stolen and all her food smashed on the floor. By the time she escaped having her head beat against a door over and over by the three intruders and being duct taped from head to toe to her toilet in her own pool of blood she nearly tripped over all her broken glass and china items on her way to call 911. Only, her cell phone had been smashed and her land line disconnected. Thankfully, she made it to a neighbor's house but the intruders/beaters/smashers escaped.

After my heart started beating again I flipped through some more channels. I stopped when I came to another news program and heard the shrieking screams and floppy legs of a 5 year-old strapped to a dentist table having 16 crowns in one sitting. Next thing I knew the welfare mother of that child was crying to the news reporter about how the dentists and assistants not only forbade her from seeing her child during the 2-hour brutal procedure, but when he came out with a soiled shirt and blood dripping from his mouth all she could see was silver-- SIXTEEN of her child's teeth were crowned. The money-driven dentist's response? "I don't want Langley Park to be the laughing stock of the entire Small Smiles nation with the ridiculous production of $7,000. We can't stay in business making $7,000. You can spend 2 hours on a kid who is not stablized and that is not cost productive for us..."
The part owner of that chain of dental offices declined interviews. And by the way, he owns a 7-bath, 12,000 square foot house in Colorado complete with a swimming pool, hot tub, dance studio and personal gym. All while the Medicaid children who were treated in his clinics are left with silver smiles and scarred for life.
See for yourself: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7016055&page=1

I couldn't take any more. In tears, utter disgust and sick to my stomach, I immediately turned the T.V. off. I am so grieved by injustice and human suffering. Unfortunately, it is a reality in this sick, fallen world but my eyes just can't seem to bear it anymore. When I walked into the burn victims unit at the Macha Mission Hospital in Macha, Zambia Africa last summer and heard the cries of excruciating pain from those 2 and 3 year-old children I immediately wept and had to leave. When I hear about sexual perversion, human trafficking, brutalities, murders, abuse, etc. I have to turn away. My eyes can't bear it.

To think this kind of twisted and sick sin has been around since the day of the first man and God has had to bear it since the creation of TIME just burdens me. I've often asked Him, "HOW can You stand it...?" I indentify with His heart so much when it comes to the reality of sin because my motivational gift is compassion-- I love people more than I can explain and when I see them hurting and in pain I am moved and stirred to action. The Lord took me to the book of Judges this morning and again, I am grieved by what I read. These people didn't have a leader and were walking in spiritual deception and sin.

So how does God handle this dispicable sin? A lot of times, exile. He is forced to drive His people out of their familiar land and turn them over to their sin. They will suffer the consequences. Throughout Judges God gets to the bottom of the sin issue and says, "But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?" People during the Judges period, over 3,000 years ago disobeyed the Commandments of God that would lead them into prosperity... and 3,000 years later, we still haven't understood the vitality of obeying God.

I'm grateful for the mercy and grace of God. He doesn't have to, but in the midst of destruction He raises up mighty men and women of faith, like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Deborah, Ruth and Esther to lead the people into righteousness and faithfulness. And today, we reap the benefits of our faithful, spiritual fathers and mothers-- true heroes-- of the faith, who despite all odds trusted and obeyed the Word and Voice of God that lead the people of God into freedom. Thank you, Lord, that although we haven't chosen You, You have chosen us.