by Micahael Josephson
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Life can be pretty discouraging. Just look around. There are so many  problems — from the global issues of war, poverty and environmental destruction to the more daily issues of poor schools, violence and economic pressures. It’s easy to throw our hands up in despair, to give up and accept corruption and misery as inevitable and unalterable. Even those who have hope seem to wait for someone else to fix the problem: our neighbors, the government, God, anyone but ourselves.

It reminds me of the story of a young man whose car broke down on his way to his place of worship. For the first time he had to walk through an area where he could see homeless people cuddling to buildings for warmth, alcoholics and mentally ill men and women wandering the streets, and crack dealers selling drugs to kids. He was overcome with a sense of despair and doubt about the power and intentions of God.

"God," he prayed, "how could you allow all this pain and misery and do nothing?" Of course, there was no reply so the young man repeated earnestly, "Lord, my faith is at issue. I just don’t understand. How can you allow all this pain and do nothing?"

After a lengthy silence, someone behind him whispers, "He didn’t do nothing. He made you."

What a daunting responsibility it is and what a tribute to our individual power to know that each of us is the instrument of a better world.

Sword & Spirit Ministries
P.O. Box 712 • Murrieta, CA 92564

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