This is a really big deal …

As I watched what was going on in the park a couple months ago, I found the scene to be utterly heartbreaking.

At first I wondered what was going on. I saw a group of people setting up a sun shade, chairs, and even a public address system with microphone.

Down the street I heard someone leading chants from a bull horn, and entering the park was a small group of people carrying an Afghan flag who joined those gathered and seated around the sun shade.

Speaker after speaker would step up and address the small crowd of maybe 50 people.

I would later discover it was a group of Afghan immigrants protesting the murder and additional harsh treatment of Afghan refugees in Iran by the government of Iran. The news had been full of reports of three Afghans being burned to death in a car after being shot at by Iranian police, as well as other claims of harsh treatment of Afghan refugees by Iranian police.

As terrible as the reports were, I couldn’t help think that a small protest rally in a little park in a community of San Diego would do little to help the cause of Afghan refugees in Iran. Although they raised their voices in the park, those voices couldn’t be heard where it mattered, and they probably weren’t voices that could make much of a difference unless they acted beyond their gathering in a quiet community park. What could these people do to stand against the harming and murder of their friends?

My heart ached as I listened to their desperate pleas for help.

I couldn’t help but think of how Christians also have an enemy who seeks to harm and destroy us, but we have a Savior. Jesus said:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10.

We have a horrible enemy, but we have a great God to whom we can turn to for help and protection:

“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most,” Hebrews 4:14-16.

It is a really BIG DEAL that we can, with boldness, come before God for His gracious help in our times of need. We have a place and Person to go to where our voices are heard and they matter to Him!

That’s an incredibly big deal … but we have to use that great opportunity. Do you come before God to seek His mercy and grace each day, or are you trying to take on your enemies and troubles in your own insufficient power?

Scotty