On Monday, a massive fire in the Rohingya camp, burnt over 460 shelters to the ground. Hundreds of people lost their homes and everything they had, How extremely painful this must be for these people who have for eight long years lived in this Bangladesh camp—the largest refugee camp in the world. Can you imagine? Only now are their voices seriously being heard at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Speaking on behalf of Gambia, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda Jallow told the court that his country brought the case “after reviewing credible reports of the most brutal and vicious violations imaginable” committed against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine province.

Too bad that it had to take so long for world attention to be paid to this. In the meantime, the Rohingya have had to live in dire conditions. In the meantime, more atrocities were taking place in Myanmar.

I have published the following devotional on LinkedIn as well, knowing that many Rohingya read my writings there.

May the assurance of the unconditional love of Jesus—always there—bring relief. And may this message bring them at least a measure of healing.

To donate to the UN Refugee Agency go to https://www.unhcr.org/emergencies/rohingya-emergency

 

“DON’T CRY; I’M HERE”

As he [Jesus] approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”  The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Luke 7:12-15

Having a hard time? I have been lately. Will you join with me as I deal with it and try to bring closure?

Think back to when you were a youngster and something bad happened to you: something that meant a lot to you, broken or lost; a friend you loved, ignoring you; a parent going on a trip, leaving you behind. . . or, as it is for many, a much greater loss.

Remember the comfort of having your mom or dad telling you, “Don’t cry. Everything will be alright.” How encouraging those words can be when they come from someone who cares about you!

Jesus can give this kind of encouragement. Like He did to the widow in the Scripture above.

Filled with love and compassion, Jesus told the widow “Don’t cry.” And he brought her son to life again. With compassion He says the same to each of us when we’re in pain or suffering a loss: “Don’t cry; I’m here.” His heart goes out to us as He says, “I love you. I care about how you feel. I want to make things right for you. Trust me.”

Each day, Jesus prepares us for a return to wholeness. All we have to do is to accept that He is able to do that. Trust His healing hand. Trust that He loves us, no matter what we’ve been through, no matter what our behavior, no matter what our misperceptions or disappointments might have been.

We don’t have to cry on our own for the irretrievable. Jesus will join us in our sorrow and help us move on, as difficult as it may be.

“Don’t cry!”

Jesus will always love us, even at those times when we don’t feel like we’re the person we once were. God will bring us back. The Master Healer will revive us.

marja