We have spent several days in Regina, Saskatchewan, trying to catch up on rest and on computer work, much of which is communications.
It is so tempting to keep pushing through on the work, but we try to take a “sabbath” every week, knowing that that is how God made us humans to work most efficiently (and a practice we have tried to keep as a habit). And we are took an extra day this week while we had the opportunity. Always there are issues pressing. Life is full. that’s okay. Time to breathe! Even time to walk in parks and enjoy the lilacs that are blooming in Saskatchewan.
Sunday the 12th we will be in the town of Macoun and look forward to sharing with people who have cared for us for many years!
In Ukraine the price of fuel is more than three times what it was before the war, and a limit of 15 or 20 liters (4-5 gallons) per car (and often lousy quality). This price hike has also affected the cost of food and supplies. Bread has gone up 1/3, and it is a mainstay in the Ukrainian diet.
The fighting still continues, mostly in the South by the Black sea, and East around the Donbas area, which is by the border to Russia. That being said each week there are missiles landing on specific sites in the West around L’viv and places closer to the Polish border. This past week, the first missile strike of 8 missiles hit Kyiv for the first time in 5 weeks, destroying a train station and loading area. Almost every day I see that air sirens are going off in our city of Rivne, even though I have not heard of any missiles landing there.
The loss of lives, the loss of property, the loss of business and businesses—it’s overwhelming. Throw into that the threat of nuclear war. Could it happen? Nothing is impossible. And yet we look to the future. Whether the war continues or stops there is much to be done. I think often of the suffering like this that has gone on down through the centuries with wars. You just want it to go away. You pray that it will go away. And it drags on. It is extremely important to move on to Kingdom praying—God’s will.
Actually much of our prayer life could be identified as spiritual warfare. We are praying for the things Satan doesn’t want to happen. Things that will destroy his kingdom. Even the most famous passage on spiritual warfare, Eph. 6:10-18, ends not by telling us to go out and attack Satan, but to be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. We may have times to confront Satan or his demons, but this is not the bulk of spiritual warfare for most of us. It is being diligent to pray for God’s will here on earth. And we can pray with security. Psalm 91 is a good one to memorize and meditate on. Prov.14:26 says, “He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.” Fearing God and taking refuge in Him are powerful warfare weapons. And so we need to do our part by doing warfare on the spiritual level. When you pray for the salvation of souls—it’s warfare. When you pray for the protection of God’s saints—it’s warfare. It’s hard to keep praying. We always want instant results. But…the prayer of faith is not one that makes us weary. I’m not talking about the bit where we try to “work up” enough faith to make something happen! I’m talking about the prayers we know God wants to answer and the fact that we pray to an almighty, wise and good God. Let’s keep praying together!
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