Tag Archives: Myanmar

by | June 30, 2025 · 11:27 am

Don’t Give Up!

Why Joseph refused to act like a victim

Medical staff at Mae La Refugee Camp Hospital, Zone C (now volunteering)

One of my favorite biblical characters is Joseph, whose story is told in Genesis 37-50. His father, Israel, loved him more than any of his other 11 brothers, but throughout much of his life he suffered unjustly. His brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery. He was forcibly taken from the land of Canaan to Egypt, where his new master’s wife falsely accused him. He was thrown into prison and could have been executed, but God protected him through all his trials. Eventually, he was able to use his gift of dream interpretation to gain the favor of the Pharaoh. From this one unexpected, miraculous moment in his life, he rose to second in command in all of Egypt, and God used him to save many people from starvation during a seven-year famine.

When Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan to Egypt searching for food, they were terrified that he would get revenge on them. However, instead of being bitter, hateful, or vindictive, Joseph chose to interpret his unjust, cruel treatment through the eyes of faith. His now famous statement has inspired believers ever since: “You intended to harm me,” he explained to his brothers, “but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20, NIV).

Wow. What an amazing perspective. Joseph had every right to nurse old wounds, play the victim, or demand retribution against his cruel brothers. But he didn’t do any of that. He chose another path.

In my work teaching, preaching, and ministering among the Karen and Karenni refugees in western Thailand, the Christians there have taught me much about what it means to live by faith, hope, and love, despite their awful circumstances and bleak futures. Along the border, most are stateless, not able to return (safely) to Myanmar nor free to travel (legally) around Thailand or to other countries. Nevertheless, they are choosing to focus on the future, not the past. They are thinking about the good they can do, despite or because of their circumstances, not about all the unjust, horrible things that happened to put them in their current situation.

Volunteers distributing rice to needy people within Tham Hin Refugee Camp, Thailand

They are going to school, providing emergency care for those who have been forced to flee their homes or villages due to the war, sharing the Gospel, providing medical care for free in the camps (due to cuts in foreign aid from USA), sharing food, and teaching children, sometimes in the middle of the jungle, after villages and schools were demolished by the military. Despite repeated bombings, destruction of their homes, and displacement, these victims of over 75 years of oppression and civil war are refusing to live as if their lives are over. They believe that God has not abandoned them, and they’re putting their faith into action, accordingly.

Joseph and others like him who have had to cope with an enormous amount of injustice, hardships, and suffering, have so much to teach us. The lesson is clear: If you want to keep from being defeated by your circumstances, keep putting your trust in God. Never stop believing that God can create an opportunity for you in the least likely of places and worst of situations.

You may not always be able to make sense of your experience or see how God is at work, but never give up hope. Never stop believing that God is going to do something good in your life—for your sake and for the sake of all those God wants to help, encourage, and bless through you. You have been chosen by God to serve his good purposes. Your life matters. Believe it and live it.

With the love of Jesus Christ,

Dr. Tim

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9, NIV)

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by | April 14, 2025 · 6:40 am

A Time to Grieve

Sometimes weeping is exactly what we most need to do. (A Biblical Reflection for Holy Week)

The Pieta in a frieze depicting Mary’s grief (In the choir, Chartres Cathedral, France)

In the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, the preacher writes: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…” (3:1,4).

So, what time is it? What time is it for those living in places like Myanmar, Eastern Congo, Ukraine, Gaza, and many other places around the world, for those whose lives are consumed by unimaginable hardship, violence, and loss due to war, earthquakes, famines and other apocalyptic like disasters? What time is it in America? What time is it for you?

For me, there is not one simple answer. On one hand, the problems and suffering of the world call me to take my responsibility as a global citizen all the more seriously, to look for more ways to support my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, to speak out against injustice at home and abroad, to protect the vulnerable and abused, to share the Gospel with those who do not know the hope that comes through Jesus, and to link arms with others who are trying to exhibit the love of Christ in concrete ways to those in need.

At yet, sometimes it all feels like too much. Sometimes weeping is exactly what I most need to do. And it’s not just me. One of my closest colleagues in Myanmar, who does more than anyone I know to help others in need, wrote to me after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake and admitted, “Sometimes I feel very depressed.” Another colleague from Ukraine confided to me, “I am war fatigued, to say the least.” At such times, as much as I would like to bury my painful feelings, run away, or just collapse in weariness, what I usually need most is to stop trying to help anyone else for a moment and take some time to grieve.

  • By grieving, I release the tremendous pain I feel before it explodes inside me or utterly depresses me.
  • By grieving, I can feel and not forget how much I loved whomever or whatever I lost.
  • By grieving, I can rage against the powers of death and destruction, refusing to be defeated by evil.
  • By grieving, I feel the depth of my frustration and tap into my determination to live.   
  • By grieving, I admit to myself, “So much is out of my control. There’s so much I would like to have been able to do but couldn’t.”
  • By grieving, I give up expecting unrealistic miracles. Instead, I reach the end of myself and reach out to God and others for the comfort and strength I need.

On Good Friday, Christians remember the awful day when evil forces conspired to kill Jesus. In the photo you see, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is depicted with her hands outstretched, her face contorted with grief, and her eyes turned heavenward. Her beloved son, Jesus, had just been brutally nailed to a cross, executed for daring to challenge the religious authorities, who were blind to God’s working through his life and indifferent to the needs of the poor, needy, and vulnerable.

In her moment of unimaginable pain, with Jesus’s lifeless body draped over her knee, Mary could only see and feel her great loss. She didn’t know that resurrection was coming. Even if she had all the faith in the world, the horror of it all remains. What must it have been like for Jesus’s poor mother? What is it like for those burying their dead in Mandalay, in bombed out villages, in IDP camps? For those who are still searching for lost ones, who have disappeared or are presumed dead under the rubble of fallen buildings?

I only imagine how great their grief must be. But I do know this. For those who turn to God amid their pain and loss, and for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, they do not “grieve… as those who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Why not? Because through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we do have hope. Hope that we are not alone or abandoned by our Creator. Hope for life after death—not just a reincarnation into another life of suffering, but eternal life with new bodies, hearts, and minds, re-created to live in fellowship with God forever. This promise is for all those who know and love their Creator and who put their faith Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. It’s by Christ’s sacrificial death that we are forgiven. It’s by the Holy Spirit that our hearts and minds are renewed. And it’s by believing that we are saved (Romans 8:1-6; 10:9-10).

That’s the hope we as Christians live by. But for this holy week, we must pass through Good Friday first. The night is so very dark, and our tears flow. It’s a time to grieve.

With the love of Jesus Christ,

Dr. Tim

Next time, I will write about “The Journey to Joy”.

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by | February 13, 2025 · 7:04 pm

Do the Good Thing

“[God] has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8, NIV).

These are really tough times for so many people, for so many reasons, in so many places globally. In addition to the violence, oppression, and exploitation destroying lives in Myanmar and Eastern Congo, where I teach and minister, an abrupt U.S. foreign aid freeze is wreaking havoc among humanitarian organizations and producing fear and despair in millions worldwide. As you probably know by now, hospitals, clinics, food and medicine distribution, and many other critical services have already been shut down, and the world’s suffering is rapidly multiplying.

But all this is an old story. And it’s one I don’t want to get lost in. What I mean is the story of humanity’s selfishness, cruelty and neglect of the needy is as old as time. We have no choice about living in the world as it is, but I for one don’t want to let all the evil and suffering crush me or turn me into an angry, bitter, cynical person myself.

Running away, hiding, closing our ears, fuming incessantly, hating, or striking out with rage aren’t the answers. Those responses belong to our fight, flight, and freeze instincts. They’re normal reactions, which are sometimes helpful under certain circumstances (for example when the internally displaced people in Myanmar instinctively run for cover when they hear military jets flying overhead). But long term, thoughtful action rather than instinctive reaction does more good. Instead of being consumed by negativity and powerlessness, biblical writers teach us to stay focused on the good that is within our power to do, and then do it. Every day. As best we can according to the opportunities, abilities, and resources available to us.

The prophet Micah lived in a society where the rich were violent, exploitative, and oppressive (e.g., 2:1-2; 6:10-12). Those in power were manipulating the judicial system to favor themselves and subvert justice (e.g. 3:11; 7:3). And, unsurprisingly, the result was societal breakdown and widespread suffering among the most vulnerable and weak (e.g., 3:1-3; 7:1-6).

Micah’s response to these societal ills was to speak truth to power. He rebuked those who were in a position to do good but instead used their advantage selfishly and harmfully. In no uncertain terms, he called the powerful, the rich, and the unscrupulous religious ministers to repent and renew their commitment to living by godly values. What is the good thing that the LORD requires? Micah asks rhetorically. You should already know, he answers: “To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8).  

Micah was written to call the powerful and privileged to repentance, but his ethics and standards are for everyone—including those of us who might be incensed by the seeming heartlessness and self-serving behavior of others. Everything we do should be measured against God’s standard of justice, mercy, and humbly walking with God. In other words, every time we’re tempted to judge, dismiss, push away, harden our hearts toward someone else, accuse, blame, lash out, or self-righteously justify ourselves at the expense of others, we should ask ourselves, “Am I being fair?” “Is this a situation in which God would want me to be merciful?” “Is my attitude humble and godly?” Or as Jesus would ask, “Am I acting out of love for my neighbor?” (Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:29).

Of course, when we try to apply this simple formula today, things can get complicated very fast. We live in a complex world with so many layers of competing needs, dysfunction, corruption, misinformation, partial truths, limited resources, and forces well beyond our control. Yet, we have to try.

Embracing godly values is what keeps us grounded in what is right, good, and true, so that we don’t get sucked into negativity or forget that we are called to put into practice what we preach to others. Walking humbly with our God is what reminds us that none of us is without sin. Every one of us has been the beneficiary of God’s grace and mercy, and God expects us to pass on what we have received freely.

At a time when there is so much human need and suffering, and so much chaos and turmoil within the United States, the world does not need any more self-righteous, judgmental religious people, or worse, those who are inflicting harm on others in God’s name. Nor do we accomplish anything by putting our heads in the sand or running away from the current crisis, or by throwing up our hands in helplessness. No, the enormity of the needs in the world and the magnitude of distress in America demand that each of us do something, something good, for the sake of others. Something that passes the Micah 6:8 test and fulfills Jesus’ command that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

The only truly good people are those who do good, as God defines goodness. So, let’s not be defeated by evil but join ranks with those who overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21).

Photo: Tham Hin Refugee Camp, Thailand. The tattered poster on the board promotes a UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) program, which is just one of many resources for impoverished refugees that has been defunded the United States administration. The hospitals in this and six other refugee camps have also been forced to close their doors due to the freeze.

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by | May 3, 2024 · 3:55 pm

Grieving Our Losses

…honestly, yet hopefully

[Four minute read]

Serving victims of oppression, brutality, and destruction in Myanmar, Thailand, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has forced me to grapple with unimaginable trauma and despair afflicting those living in or fleeing war zones. Their suffering and losses are often unimaginable to someone like me, who grew up in a comfortable, relatively safe, Midwestern town in the United States. Yet, there they are. Right in front of my eyes.

Sometimes, all they have left is their tears. Sometimes, all they can feel is their rage. Their future has been decimated. Their hope shattered. Biblical promises fall flat. God seems cruelly absent.

Just recently, one of my former students in Myanmar, Pastor “Kyaw”, texted me with some tragic news. His village had been bombed. Several were killed or injured. For many, everything they owned went up in flames. More than 200 homes now lie in ruins, including his own. As is true for some three million people throughout Myanmar, most of the people have sought shelter in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp or have fled the country. Their village has become a ghost town.

How are they going to survive? How are they going to cope psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually? What will be the long term of effect of such trauma and loss?

In talking with Pastor Kyaw, Psalm 137 came to mind. I’m sure the ancient Israelites were asking themselves the same questions during their exile in Babylon (6th Century BC). They had been conquered by an invading army. They were forced from their beloved villages and country. They had lost everything that was “home” to them and were now captives in a foreign land. As far as they could see, they had no hope. No future.

“By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion…. O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!” (Psalm 137: 1, 8-9, NRSV)

According to the famous psychiatrist, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, those who suffer significant loss typically move through five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (On Death and Dying, 1969). 

  • “Denial” is when you are still in shock or just can’t get your head around what just happened or what bad news the doctor told you is going to happen. 
  • In “Anger,” you rage, sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly. You never dreamed that something like this would happen to you. And if someone betrayed you or let you down—whether it is yourself, someone else, or God—you might be really angry about it, and wind up lashing out with hateful or violent words to hurt whomever you blame for your loss.
  • In the “Bargaining” stage, you might obsess on how you might have prevented the tragedy. “If only I had done [this or that] ….” Or, if you’re grappling with bad news for the future, you may make desperate promises to yourself, to others, or to God. “I promise I will do better….” hoping to somehow prevent the inevitable.
  • In “Depression,” the horrible truth has finally sunk in, but it may feel like too much to bear. Your energy and drive are gone. You may be plagued with guilt, shame, or despair. You may not even want to get out of bed in the morning. 
  • Fortunately, depression need not be the final stage in grief. For most people, at some point, there comes “Acceptance.” Here, you finally accept what you cannot change in the past or something that is going to happen. You may retain an emotional tie to someone or something you have lost, but the bond you feel ceases to be debilitating. Your strength and motivation to live return. 

I don’t know for sure which stage the ancient Israelites were in when Psalm 137 was written. It’s obvious they were in a lot of pain, and they certainly hadn’t reached the acceptance stage. They were still weeping and raging. The psalmist was even dreaming of the most cruel kind vengeance imaginable. His feelings were raw and real, but only one snapshot within his undoubtedly long grief process.

Thus, we should not think this psalm is blessing hatefulness or brutal retribution. Rather, it acknowledges the need for honesty about our darkest and most troubled feelings en route to healing and wholeness. Our instinctive reactions may look really ugly at times, but honesty must precede transformation.

When I feel distraught or full of rage, as painful as it may be, it’s usually best if I let myself feel my feelings. I try not to condemn myself for feeling hateful or vengeful, but I don’t act on these feelings. I recognize that I’m grieving, and such reactions are normal. I need to be honest about how I’m feeling, but I don’t have to stay stuck there. Truly, I don’t want to waste my life being angry all the time.

After Jesus’ horrific killing, followed by his astonishing resurrection, the time came for him to say goodbye to his disciples. One more loss for the disciples. Yet, according to the Gospel of Matthew (28:19-20), Jesus urged his disciples to look forward, not backwards. He told them to focus on their calling, which in their case was to preach, teach, and demonstrate the truth of the Gospel. And he assured them that they would not be alone. “And surely,” Jesus promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b). 

When I come to the depression stage, sometimes, I just need to feel sad. My sadness honors the fact that I cared a lot about whatever was (or will be) lost. Yet, as upsetting or devastating as the situation may be, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling sad. Depression is not my destiny. I may not feel hopeful at the moment, but I can choose to believe that God is present and at work in my life for good. And I can reach out to Jesus to ask for help to escape the darkness and despair.

I don’t know what kind of loss you might be grieving right now, or what stage of grief you might be in. But based on my ministry among victims of war and great loss, my personal experience, and the teaching of the Bible, I can assure you there’s more to your life and future than whatever you’re experiencing at the moment. It won’t always feel this awful. There will be a better day. No matter what you may have lost, you still have an important purpose in life. There’s work for you do—people who need your love and care. Other grieving or struggling wayfarers, who need a word of encouragement or simply a helping hand. …those who do not know the hope you have of an enduring relationship with God through Jesus.

So, grieve your own losses honestly. Be compassionate and patient with yourself as you work through the various stages of grief. Yet also remain hopeful. You are not alone, and Jesus Christ has called you to share in his ministry of love in this broken world full of so much sorrow and pain.

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by | September 14, 2023 · 4:35 pm

Does God Care?

What Jesus’ raising of Lazarus says about God’s heart.

Jesus raising Lazarus in stained glass window (Chartres Cathedral, France)

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved.”

John 11:33

Normally, the well-known story of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-43) is told as evidence of the miraculous power of Jesus Christ. It also vividly illustrates the hope of all Christians. God the Father will give eternal life to all those who put their faith in God’s son, Jesus, the promised Messiah and Savior of the world (11:25, 41). All this is true to the biblical story. But there is more.

When we pay attention to the emotion of the story, we can also perceive the heart of God. John tells us that Jesus “loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus” (John 11:5). After Lazarus’s death, when he spoke with Mary and the others who were grieving, he himself was “deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” (11:33). Then, when he saw the tomb of Lazarus, “Jesus began to weep” (11:35). In other words, through Jesus’ emotional response to the tragic death of his friend and the grief of his sisters, we learn how deeply he loved and cared about his friends, despite his decision to delay in traveling to Bethany after he heard the news of Lazarus’s sickness.

Jesus had known that his delay would result in Lazarus’ death. Nevertheless, he deliberately waited, because, as he explained to his disciples, he knew that raising Lazarus from the dead would bring more glory to God and to God’s son than if he rushed to Bethany to save him from dying (11:4). But we should not think that his interest in bringing himself glory came from egoism. No, bringing glory to himself was ultimately for the sake of the people he loved. The greater he was held in their esteem, the more confidence they would have to look to him for eternal salvation. In other words, there was a reason that he delayed in going to save his friend, but it wasn’t because he didn’t care. 

In troubled places like Myanmar (Burma), western Thailand, and Eastern Congo, where I teach and minister, sometimes I hear Christians who sound a lot like Mary and Martha. Why doesn’t God rescue us? Why doesn’t God do more to help us? If Jesus would come quickly, then so many people would not have to suffer and die.

Indeed, there is so much evil in this world that defies explanation for those who believe in a loving, all-powerful God. We know that sometimes we suffer because of the sin of others, who abuse, neglect, or exploit us. Sometimes, we cause our own suffering, because of our ignorance, foolishness, or outright sinful behavior. But, other times, we simply cannot fathom why God allows his children, people God has created and loves, to suffer so horribly and painfully, day after day, year after year. 

Throughout time, humans who believe in God have wrestled with the perplexing problem of evil. If God is both good and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Why does God not intervene to alleviate human suffering and put an end to evil? In the Bible, the Apostle Paul taught that the whole world is under the curse of sin and will not be delivered until Jesus returns, when God will save all those who put their trust in him (Romans 8:22-30). But why did God create a world in which evil even exists, and why doesn’t God do more to rescue his loved ones from their suffering while they wait for Jesus’ return?

Some theologians suggest that the explanation for human suffering lies in God’s decision to give humans freedom. Only those who are truly free can love from their hearts and with their wills. But when we have ability to choose to do good or to do evil, to love or to hate, to care or to harden our hearts in indifference to others, etc., sometimes our choices are going to make things worse.

Other theologians speculate that for some mysterious reason, either due to how God designed the universe or due to the very nature of God, God is powerless to stop the suffering on his own. God cares and is active among us but can only produce positive change in the world in conjunction with the actions of his human creation. In other words, perhaps God cannot stop human suffering unless human beings choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s leading to overcome evil and alleviate one another’s suffering.

We may never be able to solve the problem of evil or explain God’s actions or inaction in face of human suffering, but one thing we can hold on to. The story of the raising of Lazarus illustrates that God does indeed care about his children, despite God’s delay in coming to rescue or save us. Jesus was moved by the grief of Mary of Martha because he loved them. He wept at Lazarus’s tomb, because his heart was broken.

I pray every day for God to deliver the Burmese people from their oppression, to provide for the IDPs and refugees in Myanmar and Thailand, and to bring peace to Eastern Congo. And I agonise over God’s delay and grieve with those who have lost and suffered so much. But one thing I do not do. I do not doubt God’s love. I may not understand God’s ways and delays, but I believe that God cares. I believe that God is grieving with us, and he hears our cries and weeps alongside us. I believe he will continue to supply the love, courage, and strength we need to keep caring for one another. And while I struggle amid so much grief and suffering, I trust that God will not delay forever. Jesus Christ is already with us now by his Spirit, and one day there will be resurrection and eternal life for all those who put their faith in him.

That’s the kind of hope we find in the Bible. Not freedom from all suffering in this life or the promise of a human-created utopian society on earth. But an eternal relationship with a caring God and his crucified son, who lived, died, and was resurrected for us.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Photo Credit: Jill K.H. Geoffrion

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by | March 15, 2022 · 2:15 pm

No Easy Answers in a War Zone

Only Faith, Hope, and Love

HEAL Africa Doctors meeting for Bible Study in war-torn Eastern Congo

How can you answer troubling questions about God that have no easy answers? How can you talk about God’s love to traumatized people in a war zone, when God seems so distant and disengaged from their suffering? During my weekly Bible study that I conduct for a group of 20-30 doctors (pictured below) in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), I’m often asked, “What should we say to our patients, whose family, friends, or neighbors have been driven from their homes or brutally murdered?” In Eastern Congo, some six million people have died due to violence, starvation, and disease over the past 25 years. Their nightmare has raised earnest questions about God that are difficult to answer, such as, “Does God care?” and “Why didn’t God protect us?”  

Meanwhile, in Europe, Russian troops are wreaking havoc across Ukraine, thousands are being injured or killed, and over three million people have been forced to flee the country in a matter of a few weeks so far. In Asia, as you well know, the crisis in Myanmar continues unabated and the suffering keeps multiplying. Everywhere there is great suffering from injustice and violence, the same kinds of questions keep arising among Christians. Even my Burmeses theological students want to know, “Are we suffering because God is punishing us?” “Is God ignoring us?” “Should we expect any help from God?”

Homes burn Loikaw Township, Kayah State, Myanmar, following Junta airstrikes, 2_23_22 PC_Free Burma Rangers

In my role as seminary professor and Bible teacher in Africa, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia over the past 15 years, I’ve been asked these kinds of questions repeatedly by people who are being traumatized by genocide, war, or oppression. However, rather than try to make up answers to unanswerable questions or offer up false hope, it’s been far more helpful to admit the limitations of human understanding about God and to focus practically and realistically on how we know that God works in the midst of great evil.

As I have struggled with my own understanding of what to expect from God, I have longed ceased to put my hope in God’s sudden appearance out of nowhere to save the people. I’d be delighted for any miraculous intervention God may choose to make, and I pray for God’s help and deliverance daily. But most of my hope rests on how God works in, among, and through those who know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.

I have never had a vision of Jesus, but I see Jesus in his body of believers all the time—in their compassionate acts of kindness, self-sacrificial service, hospitality, and generosity. They are riddled with all sorts of imperfections and failings, yet they treasure their relationship with God. They keep drawing from the well of God’s love and grace for light and life in the midst of their darkness. They love Jesus, and they genuinely want to share Jesus’ love with others. And do so, sometimes even at great personal cost.

It’s been inspiring to me to see the outpouring of support for those who are suffering in all the places where I serve— including, Ukraine, Myanmar, and the Congo—both from faithful followers of Christ within the countries and from a wide variety of caring people internationally. This is surely part of God’s plan to minister to those who call upon the name of the Lord in their distress.

There are no easy answers to the cries and confusion of people in a war zone. Nevertheless, when we, as the body of Christ, fulfill our purpose to be the heart, voice, hands, and feet of Jesus, the world will know that there is a God who cares. The power, presence, and love of God will be evident for others to experience through us. And we who serve in Jesus’ name will be less overwhelmed by the evil all around us, because our eyes will be focused more on what we can do and less on what we can’t; on what God is doing through us, and not on just on what we hope and pray that God will do for us.  

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

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by | June 14, 2021 · 12:09 pm

The Power of God’s Love

In this short video, I talk about where I see God’s light shining amid the darkness in Myanmar’s current crisis. The darkness is great, but the power of God’s love is inspiring and very encouraging, as lives are being nourished, strengthened, and changed among those who are actively seeking to reflect the light and love of Jesus Christ.

Ahlone. Mingalarbar. I’m so glad you are watching this week’s video. I’m Dr. Tim Geoffrion, a biblical professor and a friend to the people of Myanmar.  I’m particularly looking forward to  sharing something with you that has been really encouraging to me this week.

But first, in case you haven’t been following the news, the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate. Since just February 1, there are now some 175,000 newly Internally Displaced People (IDP’s). This is on top of the 370,000 IDP’s that were already living in camps or church yards or makeshift structures prior to the current crisis. Many of these new IDP’s are running for their lives. They have become extremely vulnerable, living in the jungles, in caves, and small villages, some of them just waiting to die. As the rainy season begins, many of these people will not have adequate shelter, food, or medicine.

Some of the stories I hear are horrifying and very frightening. And every day, I’m terrified thinking about will one of my students or colleagues or acquaintances be arrested, beaten, imprisoned for years, or even killed. These are indeed dark and difficult days for all those who live in Myanmar, and it’s that way for all those of us who love the Burmese people.

In this video, as I suggested at the beginning, my purpose is not just to update you on all the darkness, but also to talk to you about where I am seeing God’s light, shining in the darkness, and why I feel so encouraged.

Every day, I keep hearing new stories about individuals and groups of people, all over the country, who are providing rice, advocating for the defenseless, praying with the broken-hearted, helping people escape from danger, listening to one another’s stories, visiting the sick, and so much more. The love is coming from so many different places and going out in so many different directions. As a result, many people are surviving who would not otherwise; many people are finding some strength, and encouragement that would just not be available if it were not for those reaching out to them; and, among those who are giving so generously of themselves, even at great personal risk, I’m seeing more smiles on their faces, energy in their voices, pride, satisfaction, and inner strength. It’s really beautiful, and very encouraging, because it says to me, God is present, and God is at work. There is hope.

From a spiritual point of view, what I’m talking about is what happens when we accept God’s call to be a conduit of his love to those around us. By letting God’s love flow to us and through us, we experience the abundant life that Christ came to give us. We rediscover the hope that the Holy Spirit wants to breathe into our hearts. We find meaning and purpose, because we are taking our eyes off ourselves and giving our lives to serve others, just as Jesus taught us to do and showed us how to do by his amazing example (Mark 10:45)

I like the way the Apostle John explained it when he said, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; whoever loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).  

This past week, I was particularly encouraged by hearing about one young seminarian, a person who chose to become an instrument of God’s love and light to some fellow refugees. He, himself, had recently barely escaped after a dozen rocket propelled grenades were fired into his home, in a compound where he lived. After moving from place to place, just to survive, he finally settled in a place, at least for now, and he got the idea one night of holding “family devotions,” something he experienced as a child growing up. But he did it with nine other refugees, who weren’t actually related, but in those circumstances, they were a small family, victims of the same catastrophe, huddled together, so far away from home, facing the same fears and dangers. Under this young man’s leadership, they spent time reading Scripture, praying, and just talking and listening to one another about their fears and experiences with one another. By his own account, he didn’t have much to offer them, but he gave them what he could. And that was something really precious, in that moment, for that day, in that hour, when people in need needed to experience Jesus, and needed to experience God’s love.

So, it’s stories like this one that are encouraging me so much this week. This is where I see the power of God’s light and love sustaining and changing lives, in the midst of so much darkness and evil.

Until the next time, let God’s love flow through you. I’ll be praying for you every day.

ကိုယ့်ကိုယ်ကို ဂရုစိုက်ပါ (Take care of yourself.)

မြန်မာပြည်အမြန် ငြိမ်းချမ်းပါစေ (Peace be upon Myanmar soon.)

Amen.

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