Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises – Psalm 98:4
Praising God is something that should be as natural as breathing. It’s hard to do so, however, when facing trials, problems or challenges, but that is the time when we really need to do it. I have had an experience when I was feeling down about something and it came to me, no doubt it was the Holy Spirit’s prompting, that instead of focusing on what I was going through, to focus on God instead. So, I began to praise Him. I began to sing songs of praise to Him and after a while, I felt so light and upbeat. The problem which had seemed like a mountain became minuscule until with God’s help, I was able to resolve it.
The apostle Paul is a good example of someone who praised God regardless of what the circumstances were. Who could forget when Silas and he were in jail and instead of suffering in silence, they began to sing? Acts 16:25 says But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. God used that moment as an opportunity to reveal Himself.
Suddenly, there was an earthquake, shaking the foundations of the prison and the doors to the jail cells were opened and the chains broken, the prisoners could have escaped but no one moved. The jailer thought that they had broken out and was about to take his life out of fear of reprisal but Paul assured him that all of the prisoners were there. And that led the jailer to ask the question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Verse 30). God used Paul’s and Silas’ attitude toward their circumstances to bring about the salvation of the jailer and his family. And who knows if any of the other prisoners didn’t change too as a result of what they heard and witnessed.
How we deal with adversity will not only affect us but those around us. Instead of looking down or around, we look up and whatever song the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, puts in our hearts, we lift our voices and sing to our God, Who “is our refuge and strength, A very presenthelp in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). It will lift our burdens up to Him and bring His comfort down to us.
Over 50,000 baby girls are aborted every month in South Asia – just because they were girls – Gospel for Asia
According to writer and gender-activist Rita Banerji, “Females are being killed in India at every stage of life, before and after birth, only because they are female” It has been said that the three deadliest words in the world are “It’s a girl”. The birth of a girl is not celebrated. It leads to infanticide or trafficking.
UNICEF states that the killing of baby girls has reached genocidal proportions. It is a practice that has gone on “in central India for a long time, where mothers were made to feed the child with salt to kill the girl.” Various other gruesome methods of murder are employed, many dating back to the 18th Century: stuffing the baby girl’s mouth with a few grains of coarse paddy causing the child to choke to death is one, poisoning, using organic or inorganic chemicals, drowning, suffocation, starvation and breaking the spinal cord, as well as burying the child alive.
What possible reasons could families have for murdering their baby girls?
Extreme poverty. The inability to afford raising a child.
The dowry system. This practice was supposed to have been abolished but it still exists. Poorer families in rural regions fear being unable to raise a suitable dowry and being socially ostracised.
Children conceived from rape
Deformed children born to impoverished families
Unmarried mothers not having reliable, safe and affordable birth control
Relationship difficulties
Low income
Lack of support coupled with postpartum depression
A girl is seen as an economic burden to her family–an unwanted expense while the boy is seen as their source of income. What about the women who have generated income for their families through the use of a sewing machine? Girls can be and are sources of income for their families. All they need is to be given the opportunities.
The girls are murdered for two reasons–the dowry, as mentioned earlier and the unwillingness of their families to marry them to men from a rival caste/tribe. Parents would rather murder their daughter than to allow her to marry someone from a lower caste. And the girls who survive are mistreated and neglected. They are unloved, uneducated and kept at home where they are forced to do household chores. For them the future is bleak and hopeless.
From the time they are born, South Asian women face pain, rejection, cruelty, suffering and discrimination. The Veil of Tears: Hope is on the Way is a documentary film which gives us a glimpse into the lives and hearts of these women for whom adversity is the norm. Take a look at the behind scenes video of “Veil of Tears: Hope is on the Way”.
I was deeply affected when Natalie Grant shared what she saw when she went to the Red Light District in Mumbai. Little girls as young as 5 were for sale. She and her husband had an opportunity to tour a brothel where they saw tiny rooms with beds lined up and one of them had a rope tied at the end of it. At first she was hesitant to ask about this but when she did, she was told that there was no daycare . These were working women but there was no where for them to drop off their children. “This woman has her 18 month old daughter that she tetters to the end of the bed while she’s forced to work so that she knows where she is. These are the things my husband and I say wrecked us for life” As a mother, can you imagine working in a brothel and having your child right there in the room with you? Yet, women are forced to turn to prostitution i order to take care of their children. And there is no one who will take care of their children while they work.
On CBN, Natalie shared another heartbreaking story, “I was walking down the street in Mumbai, in broad daylight, when my eyes locked on a little girl, maybe 6 or 7 years old, peering out of a cage, looking at us on the street below. It was beyond my imagination. I’ll never forget that moment. That was her life. Every day people walked by, and they didn’t even notice her.”
Can you imagine you or your daughter being kept in a cage like an animal and people are just walking by as this is nothing out of the ordinary?
When we see how these girls and women are treated by society, we realize that the problems we face are nothing compared to what they have had to endure. This why God has brought their stories to our awareness so that we can tell others. We can be the voice of the voiceless.
“Veil of Tears” tells the stories of women who are just like every other woman in the world, except that these women are brutalized, they’re despised, they’re persecuted culturally, simply because they are women and this has been going on for generations – Kenny Saylors
Thankfully, there is hope.
…God is restoring dignity to the women who have been utterly just downtrodden – Kyle Saylors
And God is not just changing their hearts, He’s changing their lives. He’s changing their everyday lives – Kenny Saylors
We can bring hope to the girls and women of South Asia–the hope they can find only in Jesus by supporting the Veil of Tears film. Here are ways you can make a difference. Take action today. Get the word out about the plight of women in Asia.
The most overwhelming part of the whole trip was visiting a village and seeing women who had been restored and seeing what true hope actually does in the life of someone that it actually can make them new, that no matter how broken, no matter how desolate, there is still hope – Natalie Grant
Children are our future. It is our responsibility–no, it should be our mission to provide them with the tools that will enable them to have the future that God meant for them to have. It is every mother’s hope to see her child rise above adversity, poverty and all the social ills that would oppress and impede progress. Every mother has a right to believe that her child can have the life that she wants for him or her. Nothing is impossible, especially when God is involved. Mothers, keep the faith. Teach your children to dream big and to reach for the stars.
It’s every mother’s hope for her child to have a bright future. It was Hannah’s hope that if God were to bless her with a son, he would serve the Lord all of his life. What a wonderful prophet Samuel turned out to be!
While I was carrying my son, I tried to imagine what he would look like. I dreamed that he would have huge dark eyes in a sweet face. I was right. I will never forget the day in the hospital when he looked up at me with those big beautiful eyes. My heart melted, of course. I wanted him to have the best that life could offer. I wanted to keep him safe and care for him as best as I could with God’s help. I am blessed to have a husband who is a terrific father and role model for our son.
My son is seven years old now and nothing has changed. My hopes for his future are still the same. My husband and I want him to have the best education we can afford so that he can grow up and be whatever he wants to be. We encourage him to work hard. I tell him that there are children in other parts of the world who cannot go to school because their parents cannot afford to send them or in some families only one child is able to go to school and it’s usually the boy. I tell him that he has so much to be thankful for. He lives in a house and has his own room while there are children who live in poverty.
Growing up, to me, my mother was very strict, more so than my father. I remember once I wrote a very steamy story that somehow ended up in her possession and I knew I was in big trouble. I was going to get a spanking from my father so I had to think quickly. I wrote another story and when the opportunity came, I switched it with the other one. You can imagine her surprise when she gave my father the letter and didn’t get the reaction she expected. When she read it, she saw that it was a different one. I don’t know what happened after that but the only thing that mattered to me at the time was that I didn’t get a spanking. Over the years, my mother and I became very close. I was very happy when I became a mother and watched as she held her only grandchild in her arms for the first time. It wasn’t until I was older that she said, “You have your own life to live.” Perhaps one day I may say that to my son although a part of me doesn’t want him to grow up. No matter how old he is, he will always be my baby. I take great comfort in the fact that God has great plans for his life.
It’s not easy being a mother. It’s especially hard for the mothers in Asia who are struggling to provide for their families. Imagine your children growing up illiterate, uneducated? Education is the key to alleviating poverty, illiteracy and saving children from social evils like child labor and prostitution. Children are God’s gifts and should be valued. They are not worthless as some would have them think. They are precious and deserve the best.
Although greater involvement by fathers – in all countries and cultures – is one of the most fundamental priorities for improving the care and upbringing of children, it is in practice the mothers who are the principal providers of care. And the first thing to be said is that however much a mother may love her children, it is all but impossible for her to provide high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, illiterate and uninformed, anaemic and unhealthy, has five or six other children, lives in a slum or shanty, has neither clean water nor safe sanitation, and if she is without the necessary support either from health services, or from her society, or from the father of her children.
The situation for mothers in South Asia sounds very dismal but true to His nature, God has found a way to reach out to them and their children. Gospel for Asia has a wonderful program which can change the despair of the mothers in Asia to hope. It can change the lives of children. Bridge of Hope has helped more than 72,000 children so far and as a result thousands of families have found faith in Christ. We can help a mother in Asia to have a Happy Mother’s day by sponsoring her child. She can see her child get an education, receive a regular medical check-up, wear clean clothes and eat a daily meal.
Nothing pleases me more than to watch my son head into school each morning with his father, carrying a lunch bag and wearing his nice, clean and ironed uniform. I know that he is going to school to learn so that one day, he will have a career and a future. One day, he will be taking his kids to school too. How grateful do you think a mother in Asia would be to see her child walking to school because someone decided to step in and make her hope a reality?
I encourage you to sponsor a Bridge of Hope child in honor of his or her mother. Make this a Mother’s Day a very special one for a woman in Asia. Give her the gift of hope–the hope of seeing her child have a great future.
Hope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man – Pliny the Elder
Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not in need of hope – young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor – James E. Faust
Beneath the veil of society are the tears of India’s most oppressed members of society–women. The movie, The Veil of Tears tells the untold story of millions of women who are victims of abuse, abandonment, adversity and gender segregation. This movie dares us to go beyond awareness and to take action. I encourage you to watch the trailer.
India has the reputation of being one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. They are married early, having no say in the matter. Arranged marriages are still the norm. They need to get permission to visit the doctor. According to a survey, 54 per cent said they expected to be beaten by their husbands if they left the house without his permission. Women are also beaten if they cook a dish badly or if their dowry is inadequate or if they neglect their household duties.
Life in India is a constant struggle for women. Veil of Tears draws us into their dark reality but also allows us to share in their triumphs. And in spite of all the suffering, there is hope. Through the work and ministry of Gospel for Asia, these women can be rescued from persecution and rejection and given the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
For more information about the movie and how you can help to make a difference visit this link: http://veiloftearsmovie.com/
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD – Psalm 31:24
One morning I found myself thinking about Job. When looking up the word adversity in the dictionary, one can almost expect to see Job’s name right beside it. He went through more than many people would go through in a lifetime, yet he had these things to say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; “Blessed be the name of the Lord”; “Shall we accept good from God and shall we not accept adversity?” “You have granted me life and favour, and your care has preserved my spirit.”; “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”.
The story of Job teaches us several things. Satan is not in control, God is. God allows certain things to happen in our lives. He allowed Satan to take away Job’s possessions, his children and his health. God allowed Job to endure much pain and suffering through no fault of his own. In spite of his situation, Job did not curse God. No matter what we are going through we are to praise God. God is to be praised at all times.
Praise God during the bad times? Personally speaking, this would be hard to do. Instead of giving praises and thanks, we would most likely break down and cry, asking God, “Why me? Why have you left me? How could you do these things to me?” We would be in so much pain that we would want to either curl up and die or seek comfort. We would wish the problem away. But this is not how God wants us to deal with adversity. He wants us to focus on Him instead of the problem. Like David, we should ask ourselves, “Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise Him, my Saviour and my God” (Psalm 42:5).
It helps to remember that life here on earth is temporary. Suffering is temporary. God promised us that He will wipe away all tears from our eyes; that there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying nor pain. All the heartaches we endured here on earth will be among the former things, which will pass away. It helps to remember that God is greater than any adversity. When we keep our eyes and minds focused on Him we will overcome just as Jesus did. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus as he walked on the water, he began to sink. We too sink into despair and hopelessness when we take our eyes off God.
The book of Job teaches us that God is in control of all the affliction that befalls His people. Affliction shapes us, fine-tunes us. God uses trouble to test our hearts. God reveals both His and the devil’s purposes. While Satan sought to disprove that Job was blameless God sought to build up Job’s character. God brings us to places where we would not otherwise have reached had we not gone through trials.
Going through trials makes us ask questions, appreciate the good times and make us stronger. We learn valuable lessons. We learn patience, endurance, humility and God’s purpose for our lives. We see that we are not exempt from suffering. Suffering cannot be avoided. God wants us to take the bad with the good. Strength comes from hardships, difficulties, trials and tribulations. These help us to see what we are made of and the areas God wants to work on.
Job is a fine example of patience and this is what I need to have more of. God is teaching me to be patient; to wait on Him; to trust Him to fulfil His plans for my life. Trials also show us who our true and faithful friend is—God. Job lost many friends and the remaining ones attacked him instead of comforting him. God is there through thick and thin. He convicts us not condemns us. He does not desert us when things are going bad. All through Job’s suffering God was there.
Another lesson to learn from Job is that we don’t question God. God doesn’t owe us any explanations as to why suffering takes place. Instead, we are to ask, “Lord, what are You trying to teach me? What is it that You want me to learn from this?” Or say, “Lord, You brought me to this and I know that You will bring me through it. You are in control”. As we go through the valleys in life, let us remember to praise God.
O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer (Nehemiah 1:11).
When Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem’s wall was broken down and the gates were on fire, he wept. He mourned for several days. He fasted and prayed to God. His prayer is a wonderful model prayer. It follows this pattern:
Acknowledgment: O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments
Confession: Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
Thanksgiving: Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.’ Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand.
Supplication: O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
God answered Nehemiah’s prayer. The king granted Nehemiah’s request to return to Judah. The cupbearer prospered and was granted mercy in the king’s sight.
When we hear bad news we give ourselves time to deal with it like Nehemiah. He cried and mourned. Then, we reach out in faith. Nehemiah fasted and prayed. Then we act in faith. Nehemiah told the king the situation and what he needed and his request was granted.
Don’t let a bad situation keep you down for long. Turn it over to God and He will take care of it. The best weapon against adversity is prayer.
