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The Last SHALL Be First

I had a discussion with a friend in my program today about hopelessness.

More specifically, I had a conversation about how people without faith deal with hopelessness, especially in reference to global health. No doubt, everyone deals with difficulty in life, some much more than others. And many people do not believe in God.
Many people do not believe that God is ultimately more powerful than any destructive force on earth.
And many do not believe that God’s plan is to heal all hurt, right all wrong, and deliver those who suffer from their suffering.
But as for me, it is very difficult to study global health day in and day out, without falling on the fact that ultimately, God is the only force powerful enough to cure all suffering and end all disparity. I love this field. But the helplessness of it sometimes overwhelms my heart. The only refuge I have been able to find from that is in the knowledge of God's love and boundless power.

I love Brooke Fraser. If you don’t know her, you should. This song is from her new album and I cannot stop listening to it. There is a line about little ones thirsting that is so powerful to me, particularly because of my passion for clean water. This song speaks beautifully to the reality that, it is often hard to explain why things are the way they are. But that we can be sure that God has a heart for the "least of these".
And in the end, the last SHALL be first.
Here are the lyrics and a link to the song:


Come, tell me your trouble

I'm not your answer

But I'm a listening ear
Reality has left you reeling
All facts and no feeling
No faith and all fear
I don't know why a good man will fall
While a wicked one stands
And our lives blow about
Like flags on the land
Who's at fault is not important
Good intentions lie dormant
And we're all to blame
While apathy acts like an ally
My enemy and I are one and the same
I don't know why the innocents fall
While the monsters still stand
And our lives blow about
Like flags on the land
I don't know why our words are so proud
Yet their promise soothing
And our lives blow about
Like flags in the wind
You who mourn will be comforted
You who hunger will hunger no more
All the last shall be first
Of this I am sure
You who weep now will laugh again
All you lonely be lonely no more
Yes, the last will be first
Of this I'm sure

I don't know why the innocents fall
While the monsters stand

I don't know why the little ones thirst
But I know the last shall be first

I know the last shall be first
I know the last shall be first

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful piece of work Elis,stunning and thought provoking.I love your writing

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  2. Like they say at Tenwek Hospital, "We treat, Jesus heals."
    Good to remember, and very encouraging when the world of global health grows daunting. Its not up to us. We help, but he heals.
    Loving the blog E :)

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  3. Good post, and I love what aesmith said above

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  4. I love Brooke as well, we almost danced to a song of hers at our wedding. This songs so perfectly communicates questions I have had for many years. Thanks for sharing Mo (want to share the cd with me too?)

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  5. Elise, thanks for being a shining light to those around you. I know that God will use you to help less people thirst; both litterallly and figuratively.

    ReplyDelete

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