Lost Voices

I've been reading 'When Helping Hurts' by Corbett and Fikkert. Really good book that I think I'll need to reread again soon to digest it all. One concept that I really appreciated is their insight into what poverty is. Most people from the western perspective would describe poverty as lack of money or necessary material things. But the poor themselves, "talk in terms of shame, inferiority, powerlessness, humiliation, fear, hopelessness, depression, social isolation, and voicelessness." (pg.53).

Lack of voice is something I've been hearing mentioned a lot recently. Or as the manager of FS T-shirts said the other day, "If the women are unhappy it's because they feel like they're not being heard. It's not that they expect us to change things, they just want to know that we are listening to them." They've been voiceless their whole lives and now they want the right to speak, and through that to remember that they are worthwhile.

In this Christmas season I've also been thinking about a King who gave up his voice to become a baby. He left more power than we can ever imagine to be born in a stable and to be raised in poverty. He gave up His voice so we could get ours back. So our voices could once again be heard by the King of kings. So we can talk to him anytime, anywhere, as if we were face to face.

He came to bring good news to the poor. And thought that we were worth it.

Stand Firm

In Eph. 6:11-14 the word 'stand' is mentioned over and over. Vs. 13 says, "Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." It doesn't say, "After you have courageously, valiantly, and singlehandedly defeated your enemies." It just says 'stand'. I love that because standing sounds attainable.

We are to rely on His 'mighty power' (vs. 10) to fight the fight through us. He's much better about knowing how the battle should go, where justice or mercy should be applied, and what to prioritize. Our job is to 'stand firm' through His power, not to let the enemy knock us down, not to get pushed back, not to retreat.

When the battle is at it's fiercest we don't always have to be plunging forward, sword swinging. Sometimes there are periods of just standing, and that in itself is a victory!

(These are mostly thoughts from my husband's brain. Just putting it in my own words here!)