Redeeming The Time In Evil Days

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:15-17

As I sat at my computer today, I began to browse the news headlines for the day and was struck by a particular event that happened in Baghdad. Apparently, a battalion of U.S. soldiers discovered 24 special needs children, all boys, who had been severely abused and starved in an orphanage. The pictures looked like something you would see in a concentration camp, and I frankly broke down weeping at my computer, unable to comprehend the evil in front of my own eyes. Words cannot describe the images that I saw, the horrendous treatment of these boys, being chained to their beds, naked, emaciated beyond belief.

While I was spending time with the Lord this morning, He guided me to this verse, and I had been meditating on it prior to seeing these pictures. I was struck by just how evil men's hearts truly are and what we are capable of. My spirit seemed to question, "What are we doing, Lord, as your people? Are we redeeming this time you have given us? Are we burying our heads in the sand, being unwise and not even seeking to understand your will? Couldn't we, shouldn't we be doing something to make a difference in these evil days?"

I don' t know the answer obviously, but the questions are looming and my heart is grieving for these orphans, for all they have suffered. I don't want to look the other way. I want to see and feel the suffering and pain of the broken, the naked, the hungry, the poor. We need to wake up and see the evil, to take a stand and redeem the time we are living in. We must awake from our sleep in America and recognize that there is a shaking that is taking place. It is as if the Lord is shaking the foundations we have built in our lives that are not built on Him and His Word alone. He is beginning to shake His people from their sleep and to take away all that is not of Him.

While these children suffered, starving, naked, thirsty, chained, I was oohing and aahing at the aquarium with my children, enjoying the sites and sounds, laughing at the children's antics and explorations. It is a burden on my soul, and I must pray. That's all I know. I must pray...