This past week was a sobering wake-up call for me as a preacher. I have been naval gazing, looking internally at myself, thinking, what more could I have done. For the past four days, my mind has churned, “How could a nation, founded on a Judeo-/Christian foundation, elect some of the lunatics that got elected across the nation, including Georgia.” I have always thought of Georgia as the belt-buckle of the Bible-belt. Evidently that isn’t true anymore. I know all the standard answers: “The last two generations have been taught in our education system to hate their own country,” which is true. “Well, you know in the latter days, there will be a falling away from biblical teaching,” which is true. During the past six months of political ads all I thought of as they came across the TV and computer screen was “a lie will be half-way around the world before the truth gets it’s shoes on.” I could mention other things, but that isn’t the point of this blog. I want you to appreciate the freedoms and protections we still have compared to other believers in other places around the world. I’m going to do something today I normally don’t. I am going to share an email that came from one of our missionaries this week, Buddy Thigpen, about brothers and sisters in Ukraine that continue to be killed by an evil man with demonic ambitions. The title of his email is the one I used at the top:
“Yesterday, millions of Americans went to the polls. Today, televisions, newspapers, and conversations are filled with election results. Analyzing who won, who lost, and what it all means for the future of our country.
And these things matter. We are blessed to have a country where you can vote, disagree, debate, and participate in choosing those who govern us.
But while America was preparing to count its votes, a small village in Ukraine was beginning to count its dead.
On Monday morning, November 2, in the village of Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhzhia region, people gathered at a local school to receive humanitarian assistance. These were ordinary people, many of them elderly, who had remained in their homes despite the war. These were not soldiers or military helpers in any way, nor was there any military equipment in the area. They were simple civilians. They were no threat and there was no reason to kill them. They came for food and the basic necessities of life. They came for help.
Instead, Russian aircraft dropped powerful aerial bombs on the village, striking the school and a shelter where people had sought refuge.
One of the weapons reportedly used was an FAB-3000, a massive three-ton bomb carrying approximately 1,400 kilograms of explosives. This is a weapon capable of destroying heavily fortified structures. Imagine what it does to a school filled with civilians.
Yesterday, I received this message from one of our pastors in the region:
“31 dead and 48 missing. Yesterday, the Russian Federation dropped at least nine aerial bombs on the village of Komyshuvakha. The strikes targeted a school and a shelter where people were hiding. The people there had absolutely no chance of survival.”
Those numbers are already rising as rescue workers continue searching through the wreckage.
And there is another heartbreaking detail. When emergency workers arrived to rescue the wounded and search for survivors, additional strikes hit the area. This is a vicious tactic used often by Moscow. Among those killed were two rescue workers and four police officers.
Think about that for a moment.
People came looking for bread. Others came looking for shelter. Still others came looking for survivors.
And many never returned home.
Somewhere in that village, families are waiting for news of loved ones who are still missing. Some are burying their dead. Others are standing beside the ruins of a place where, just days ago, they had hoped to receive a little help.
I have spent enough time among the Ukrainian people to know that these are not simply statistics. They are mothers and fathers, grandparents and children, neighbors and friends. They are people with names, families, and stories.
And they are people who desperately need us not to forget them.
The Apostle Paul reminds us:
“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” — Hebrews 13:3
For nearly five years now, our brothers and sisters in Ukraine have endured the terrible cost of this war. They have buried loved ones, lost homes, suffered through bitter winters, and lived under the constant threat of attack. Yet our pastors and churches continue to serve. They continue to feed the hungry, care for the displaced, comfort the grieving, and proclaim the hope of Christ. And they continue to ask us to pray.
Today, I am asking you to remember the people of Komyshuvakha. Pray for those still missing, for the families who have lost loved ones, for the rescue workers risking their lives, and for the pastors and churches who must somehow bring comfort in the midst of such suffering.
Pray also for an end to this terrible war and for a just and lasting peace. By tomorrow, much of the election analysis will have moved on to something else. But in Komyshuvakha, the graves will still be fresh, the families will still be grieving, and the need for our prayers will be just as great. Please do not forget them.
Until there is peace…”
So, remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who have it far worse than we do. We think we are suffering greatly by paying an extra $.50 a gallon for gas, all while we are scrolling on our $2000 iPhones for the next ten Amazon purchases. As much as I hated the results on Tuesday, God allowed it and we still have much to thank God for. There could come a day in America when an evil enemy, perhaps already in our midst, strike us like those abroad. Be grateful, Be grateful, Be grateful.