How to Respond to the Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
For the last few days I’ve watched the events unfolding in Afghanistan with a heart torn in two and a hollow heaviness. The news and the images coming from the region are excruciating. The reports of executions, of more than 18 million people in need of urgent aid (source), of thousands upon thousands of people flooding the airport desperately seeking to board planes out of Kabul, of house church leaders receiving letters and threats on their lives are almost too much to bear. The implications for women and children are especially tragic.
It’s easy to sit here in the relative safety of our own homes and mourn with each new unfolding event and yet feel like there is nothing we can do. But that’s a lie. The truth is there are things we can do. And I want to urge you to take action in one way or another.
PRAY FERVENTLY | The first and perhaps most important thing we can do is PRAY. Sometimes prayer can feel passive, but in reality prayer is an active appeal to the God of creation who is sovereign over all. The power of prayer must not be underestimated or over expressed. By the blood of Christ, you and I can approach the throne of God boldly, and James 5:16 tells us “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Prayer opens the floodgates of heaven and causes God to reach down and intercede. There is NOTHING that you and I can do that is more powerful than that. It is not trite to say that we must pray; rather it is the one thing we must not be found lacking. For when God intercedes to answer a believer’s prayer, lives are changed, families saved, nations spared.
So pray! Pray fervently for those in the grip of the horror in Afghanistan. Pray that the Lord will intercede, that evil will be foiled and that divine rescue will come for those who are in grave danger. Pray that those fleeing the city will find shelter and protection and that those who are trapped within the horrors of the city will find deliverance. Pray for the hearts of the fighters to be softened and for their eyes to be opened to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago, God transformed the heart of one of the most vile persecutors of Christians into one of its most prolific believers who penned 13 letters of the New Testament. He can do it again.
GIVE INTERNATIONALLY | The people of Afghanistan are in dire need of humanitarian relief and aid, and there are several organizations with boots on the ground in Afghanistan boldly and bravely working to provide that aid. If you are looking for a place to give financially, consider Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières MSF) and International Rescue Committee (which began working in Afghanistan in 1988). Both organizations are working directly with victims of the conflict and Afghan refugees. If you are aware of additional organizations working to provide vital aid to Afghans, please comment. I will update this post as I learn of more organizations.
ENGAGE LOCALLY | While the conflict may feel far off, there are likely Afghan refugees quite near you. Call your local churches and ask if they are aware of any organizations serving refugees and search for refugee relief organizations within your own city to see how you can directly support Afghans in your own area.
If you’re in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the Dash Network is a local organization that welcomes asylum seekers in the DFW area with the Love of Christ by offering food, friendship, housing, job training and more. The Dash Network is ready and willing to assist Afghan refugees, and there are multiple ways to get involved.
WATCH EXPECTANTLY | As Christ followers, we are compelled to be ambassadors of His mercy and grace. And if we are to reach a hurting world, we must be aware of that hurt. So although the headlines are haunting, watch them. Be informed so you know how to pray and how to best engage.
But also watch for GOD’S GLORY! As people pray, as Christians stand in solidarity, as believers refuse to refute their faith even in the face of horrendous atrocities, God will act. Watch for his hand of redemption and rescue; watch for unexplainable miracles; watch for the advance of his church despite efforts to snuff it out!
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