Christian Living

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We were taken down deep into the chasm of the earth. Through the floor grate of the elevator, we could see some of the depth, which dropped 1,000 feet into the abyss that is known as the Cripple Creek Gold Mine in Colorado.

Our guide, a somewhat ruffled young lady, had a grandfather who worked in this mine. After hearing of his mining experiences, she was well informed about the process required to dislodge and blast the rocks to extract the gold. Mining seemed like a tough job.

At one point of the tour, our guide turned off the available light so that we could see what conditions miners may have had to deal with while working in the depth of the mountain. No light. No stars, no moon, and no sun could even begin to penetrate the blackness and depth of the earth where we stood. I wouldn’t want to have been left alone 1,000 feet below without any means of hope, sight, or escape.

In many lands, our brothers and sisters in Christ are living in a nightmare of darkness. We read about it in the news every day: some are persecuted; some have lost their homes, and some are slaughtered or victimized because of their Christian beliefs. Families are torn apart and some now don’t exist. Everything is taken from them. This is their “lights out, 1000 feet below in blackness” experience.

Persecuted people need us to get ahold of God; they don't need us to shoot off a flighty quick prayer, but to engage in the desperation kind of prayer‒or else they will die. How would you want people to pray for you in such a situation? Pray for God’s sustaining hand and His protection; pray that believers’ needs will be supplied, miracles worked, and that peace will rain down in the midst of their terror. God’s people need you and me. We cannot live our lives as if nothing has happened.

Here is one of many prayers God has answered. A Kurdish reporter for The Washington Post (Sun. Sept.14, 2014) spent half a page unfolding this event. On August third, news spread that the “Jihadists from the Islamic State are coming for us.” Thousands in northern Iraq ran for refuge to a nearby mountain. Some didn’t make it that far before being corralled by Jihadists. They were all given the opportunity to recite the Muslim creed. All refused.

Families were ripped apart, separated, and the young men were killed. The married and unmarried females were separated, and young girls were given as gifts to Islamist members as wives or concubines. A fourteen-year-old and friend were among those gifts. They were taken to a compound a distance away.
Six days after their capture, two of the men went away for business. The next day, another man chain‒locked the girls in the compound and went to his mosque. A cell phone the girls somehow were able to obtain allowed them to call a friend, but he said it was too risky for him to help. The girls located some tools and broke the lock. They discovered clothing they could use to disguise themselves, and through other amazing efforts, they were able to get back to their family. This sounded like a miracle to me.

God knows where we are and many times provides a way of escape. So let’s pray as if we ourselves were enduring with them 1,000 feet below in darkness.

Florence Simmons is a pastor’s wife, a freelance writer, and an author. Her writings train us how to apply God’s Word in our lives. Contact Florence at [email protected]; see her website; www.common-sensewisdom.com

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