Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 343):

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
Psalm 43:1

There was something I wanted to say when I sat down to write tonight’s post, but my mind went blank when I checked the most recent news.

Tonight Russia shelled Kramatorsk and hit an apartment building in the city center. Two entrance blocks were destroyed, and the eyewitnesses say you can hear people screaming from under the debris. The rescue operation continues, but we already know that at least 2 people were killed and 7 injured.

I don’t know what to say. Over this past year, I often went to the books of prophets. It is my favorite part of the Bible (if you can even choose one) because of the raw honesty and because you hear God speak there. Tonight I am thankful for the book of Habakkuk, which starts with despair and ends with words of faith and praise. May the Lord bless us to follow Habakkuk’s example.

O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? (1:2) Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (3:17-18)