Crying Out In Ukraine
Illustration
Stories
“For whenever I speak, I must cry out;
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot… But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior;
therefore, my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.” (vv. 8-9, 11)
The horrors of the Russian atrocities in Ukraine reverberate to this day in the broken lives of survivors and the mass destruction of their cities and life sustaining infrastructure. We wonder where God is in all of this suffering.
We can be sure there are many ways that God is present. One of those ways is the active caring of faithful Christians who are doing all they can to help their neighbors and who continue to shout out like Jeremiah about the “violence and destruction.” Maia Mikhaluk, a faithful Christian in Kyiv sends daily reports about what her church is doing to support those who have lost homes and loved ones. Maia wrote in April of 2022:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your support and prayer that made today's trip possible to villages in the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. These villages were occupied by Russian invaders for over a month and what they left behind doesn’t differ from place to place. The Russians destroyed, trashed, looted houses, traumatized people who out of fear hid in cold root cellars for weeks to avoid tanks and armored personnel vehicles.
I talked to 11-year-old Bohdan asking him about the days of occupation. He said he was scared, Russians killed people for no reason. A young mother with a 14 month old baby shared that in their house, several families with small kids were staying together. Russians demanded that they give them all the milk that their cow was producing but allowed them to keep other food. In other houses, the Russians took away all food and people were hungry. Neighbors tried to help each other but it was not safe to go out to the street. Russian thieves stole farming and constructions tools and anything else they could find of value.
Now people are still struggling. The infrastructure of the villages is in the process of being restored. The village stores are either closed or have a very limited food supply. Everywhere people were asking for bread. Medicines are not available. In Kyiv this morning we were able to buy a special sweet bread that people eat at Easter time. People were grateful for that treat! We went on this trip with other volunteers. They had much-needed medicines, personal hygiene products and secondhand clothes to distribute.
People in villages asked us about news, about the situation in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine. There are smiles and words of thankfulness that their village is free from invaders. We didn’t experience life under Russian occupation but even we felt a great sense of relief when the Russians were pushed out of the Kyiv region! People believe that the victory of Ukraine will be soon!
*****************************************
StoryShare, June 25, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot… But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior;
therefore, my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.” (vv. 8-9, 11)
The horrors of the Russian atrocities in Ukraine reverberate to this day in the broken lives of survivors and the mass destruction of their cities and life sustaining infrastructure. We wonder where God is in all of this suffering.
We can be sure there are many ways that God is present. One of those ways is the active caring of faithful Christians who are doing all they can to help their neighbors and who continue to shout out like Jeremiah about the “violence and destruction.” Maia Mikhaluk, a faithful Christian in Kyiv sends daily reports about what her church is doing to support those who have lost homes and loved ones. Maia wrote in April of 2022:
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your support and prayer that made today's trip possible to villages in the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. These villages were occupied by Russian invaders for over a month and what they left behind doesn’t differ from place to place. The Russians destroyed, trashed, looted houses, traumatized people who out of fear hid in cold root cellars for weeks to avoid tanks and armored personnel vehicles.
I talked to 11-year-old Bohdan asking him about the days of occupation. He said he was scared, Russians killed people for no reason. A young mother with a 14 month old baby shared that in their house, several families with small kids were staying together. Russians demanded that they give them all the milk that their cow was producing but allowed them to keep other food. In other houses, the Russians took away all food and people were hungry. Neighbors tried to help each other but it was not safe to go out to the street. Russian thieves stole farming and constructions tools and anything else they could find of value.
Now people are still struggling. The infrastructure of the villages is in the process of being restored. The village stores are either closed or have a very limited food supply. Everywhere people were asking for bread. Medicines are not available. In Kyiv this morning we were able to buy a special sweet bread that people eat at Easter time. People were grateful for that treat! We went on this trip with other volunteers. They had much-needed medicines, personal hygiene products and secondhand clothes to distribute.
People in villages asked us about news, about the situation in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine. There are smiles and words of thankfulness that their village is free from invaders. We didn’t experience life under Russian occupation but even we felt a great sense of relief when the Russians were pushed out of the Kyiv region! People believe that the victory of Ukraine will be soon!
*****************************************
StoryShare, June 25, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
