Almighty God, we pause to join the plea from your children who are suffering from Haiti and Afghanistan.
Whether their suffering is caused by ecological or natural disasters or by human made conflict or war, the truth is that when someone is suffering within the world you created, we who called ourselves Christians, are called to feel their pain as our own.
Forgive us when we let our political, theological or any other conviction to lead us to minimize such suffering, try to justify it or even ignore it. Help us to follow Jesus’ example of extending love and grace to all people, especially those who suffer oppression and dehumanization.
Haiti is hurting. Afghanistan is hurting, and our world is hurting in many ways. Help us to be brave, bold, and more holy as we seek concrete ways to become instruments of love, hope, peace, restoration, and redemption – help us to become signs of your kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
We trust that when your people are pleading with you, you listen and bring your transformative power, love and grace where is most needed. Give us the courage to not be silent, to keep pleading, and to keep finding ways to turn our love for you and your people into action. May your love, the grace of your son Jesus, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all, and especially with the people in Haiti and Afghanistan. Amen.
If you would like to view past editions of Time with Ismael, follow this link: https://heritagedistrictnc.org/category/from-the-ds/