God's Heart

Warning: This post deals with some "PG13" topics such as areas of injustice around the world, please use caution and wisdom as you read and share.

I love rainbows. No really, I LOVE rainbows!! First of all, they are so beautiful and that's honestly reason enough to love them, but there is a much bigger reason, one that I think is often forgotten.

Genesis 9:13-16 (NIV)"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Every time I see I rainbow, I'm reminded of God's faithfulness and His remarkable love. I mean really, how can He love us so much all the time? How can He have love for everyone? We heard from some of our leaders this week about ministering to trafficking victims and they said something quite impactful: God loves the trafficking victims, but He also loves the traffickers. WOW...can you even imagine that? His heart is so big, and I will never understand how He loves so completely and unconditionally.

One of the major things I have been learning about is God's heart. Today one of the speakers said something very profound; she said, “imagine you have something really important on your heart, who do you want to share it with? You don't just walk up to strangers and tell them something so personal, you find a close friend, someone you trust. So, when God puts a people group or an area of injustice on your heart, He is trusting you with something close and personal to Him.”

One of the leaders from the healthcare office came and talked to us today about the injustice women face all over the world. She talked about the lack of care for women delivering babies, and how, in many places, there are no clean supplies, or women are neglected because of their race or caste. This really hit me hard. We are so completely and utterly blessed. When I walk in a supply closet in the hospital back home, there is a whole room full of bins that are overflowing with supplies. Sarah said that many hospitals in developing nations only have only one or two shelves of supplies and the bins may or may not have anything in them. This was such a heartbreaking image for me; I can’t image being in such need and not being about to do anything about it, but this is how a large portion of the world lives. In Africa there are only 1.3 healthcare workers per 1,000 patients which means on a busy day one to two midwifes could be in charge of managing up to 80 laboring patients on their own. When I worked in labor and delivery for school most nurses only had one patient at a time.

There are many nations around the world that view women and girls as such a burden to society that if they know their baby will be a girl, they will choose abortion. Sarah shared several statistics and facts like this, but the most shocking, stomach-dropping, heartbreaking thing she said was this, "In many places around the world the three most deadly words are “It's a girl”... Can you imagine? No, really, think about that, let it sink in...Imagine a world where those three words, some of the most joyful of words in our society, actually mean certain death for an innocent soul. I don't know about you, but I'm not OK with that.

There is such a huge need for godly healthcare workers in the developing nations; so many people are deprived of adequate care because of lack of education, lack of resources, and lack of workers. I am so unbelievably excited to be part of a movement to bring healthcare to these nations, to educate communities and bring to about change. I will be doing a lot more on the healthcare missions field in January, but I have enjoyed hearing everyone’s heart for this ministry. Healthcare in missions is a huge focus on this base, so I feel very blessed to be here for training. When we align ourselves with God's heart, we are more in tune with His voice and His will.

Lord, I pray that I can be someone you trust with your heart. Jesus I want my heart to break for the things that break yours, and I want my heartbreak to fuel a passion for change. A passion to break the chains of injustice and to bring compassionate care to people who have never experienced God's love. God, touch hearts to fight for you, to fight for your kingdom, to fight for transformation, and to fight for freedom in the hearts of all your people.