today i feel this is absolutely necessary.
Romans 8 says this: “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God & is also interceding for us. who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
our team had just returned to our homestay after a morning of hiking through rice fields and mud trails. just before lunch, five women draped in rich, colorful skirts and headdresses walked up to the house and began displaying their handicrafts on the table. it was typical for women and girls like the ones in front of me to accompany us through villages, mountains, and farm land. they’d hold our hands to guide us through the steep and the slippery for a number of hours, knowing they’d have double that distance back to their village. once we reached our destination, they’d pull out the baskets on their backs full of handicrafts and ask us to buy something in exchange for their services. to them, these interactions are the mundane of life. to me, these are the women we have been praying for, these are the nations that God’s heart breaks for. as these women gravitated toward me and began touching my arms and face eagerly with their indigo stained hands, i became completely overwhelmed with the desire to give them everything i had and the Gospel off my back––i craved spending the rest of my life beside them on their endeavors. i escaped their grip to run upstairs and pray, and fell on my hands and knees before the Father then began weeping uncontrollably.
in that moment, i realized Jesus was kneeling beside me interceding for them. i knew He had been praying for a long, long time before i showed up. He turned his head to me & said “oh good, you’re here,” then continued praying. this is what it’s like every time we step into the presence of God. i can surrender at the Father’s feet and don’t have to say a word to trust that i am fully known, completely heard, and truly loved by Him. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father ceaselessly fighting for every injustice that ever was, is, and is to come. i knew that my cry was deeply felt by Him.
He turned to me again & said, “now go. go & be My hands and feet.” then i wobbled downstairs & took this photograph. that is FREEDOM! it is not the absence of pain or suffering, in fact Job cried after he lost everything, “should we accept only good things from the hand of God & never anything bad?” & John Piper wrote that God saw it fitting to perfect the Pioneer of our salvation through SUFFERING. He willed what He abhorred, yet it’s for the act of being SET FREE that we praise Jesus because HE IS RISEN!! SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER! PRAYING CEASELESSLY! 5 years today, & Jesus is STILL weeping & STILL fighting for the INJUSTICE committed december 13th 2013. He is STILL fighting for the unjust violence done against hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, & communities days, months, years, and decades ago. & because of Jesus, we are gifted LIFE & have been called according to the purpose of the Father to live in JOY, KINDNESS AND LOVE & to freely receive restoration, wisdom, liberation, & hope when it’s freaking hard.
when James declares that our prayer is powerful & effective he’s saying that when we come into this posture of worship we are literally partnering with Jesus at the right hand of the Father to intercede on humanity’s behalf. that is POWERFUL. i weep with Jesus today, join Him in prayer today, & today i choose freedom.