From: Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 1094)
But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever.
Psalm 44:7-8
I have written dozens of posts in my head over the past couple of days. They were angry, devastated, hopeful, lamenting, appalled, mournful, inspiring… you name it! I kept thinking if I should even dignify all the disgusting lies about Ukraine with a comment.
I appreciate all the encouraging messages I received from my friends. Knowing that you are not alone makes a difference.
This week, we continued talking about the names of God with my students. We started this topic about a month ago, and I couldn’t have planned a better time for it. This week, we talked about Yahweh-Shalom (God is our peace), Yahweh-Yireh (God is our provider), Yahweh-Shophet (God is our judge), and El Olam (God Everlasting). These names became an incredible encouragement to me, and hearing the kids share what these names mean to them softened my heart harshened by the current events. Turning my eyes to Him and keeping my eyes on Him, not the storms around.
As I was thinking tonight, several verses came to mind, one of which is 1 Corinthians 13:6: “Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” You can read 1 John to learn more about what it means to love and rejoice with the truth, but here’s what I concluded for myself.
I will continue to post here as often as I can, but I won’t do that to change someone’s mind (because that is rarely possible). No, I will do that out of obedience to God and love for His truth, for it truly sets us free. And when He comes as Yahweh-Shophet to judge His people, I will not need to be afraid.
That’s why I encourage you to seek the truth and share the truth. Nowadays, it is so easy to go straight to the source and verify information that we have no excuse if we choose to believe lies. God doesn’t want us to seek our comfort, pleasures of this world, security, or greatness. But He wants us to seek Him and His will.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
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