ADVENT DECEMBER 19

SEARCHING FOR PEACE

 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NRSV)

Watching the evening news this year had become a painful experience.  The stories were about wars, terrorism, persecution of Christians, crime in the streets, and the targeting of law enforcement officers.  Praying for peace amidst all this violence seemed to me to be fruitless. 

Then something happened last spring that changed my mind.  It all started when I received an email from the Submissions Editor of the Presbyterian Church of Canada’s devotional webpage telling me they are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, and asking me to consider returning to writing “dailies” (Canadian for daily devotionals) for them.  I had stopped writing for that page in 2010 due to my failing vision and the need for eye surgeries.

I was very apprehensive about writing for their page again because their “dailies” now reach more than 3,500 subscribers.  Additional people are reached via social media and podcasts.  Those numbers made me question my ability as a writer.  Did anything I write really merit the attention of so many?  After several days of drawing back from pressing the send key and praying for courage to submit a devotional, I finally sent my first message.  Wow!  What a blessing.

Over the last few months, the feedback messages have been so uplifting!  I expected to hear from the English speaking countries – America, Canada and England – but I didn’t expect to hear from anyone who remembered me from my writing prior to 2010.  Then a message came from Korea.  His email address told me he worked for Nike.  Later a young man in Africa wrote that he used “What’s App” on his phone to forward  my message to 200 more people.  The most surprising of all was my very first feedback message.  It came from a man in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim, who sent a picture of himself and his daughter telling me he reads the “dailies” to her.  In October, Sylvia, the Administrative Assistant at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada sent an email copy of their newsletter so I could see one of my devotionals as it appeared on page 3.

Now I could pray for peace again.  Now I had proof that the Holy Spirit was at work around the globe and Christianity is not only alive and well, it is growing each and every day.  I can once again pray for peace as I vicariously hold hands with Christians around the world.  As we pray, we are all placing our hope for peace in the name of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.

Prayer: Thank You, Father, for this unexpected opportunity to work in Your vineyard, and for the encouragement of fellow Christians everywhere.  Hear our prayers as we pray for peace on earth during this advent season.  It’s in Jesus’ holy name that we ask it.  Amen.

Judy Welch