It is incredible how technology has allowed us to see world events in real time. I don’t know if you are keeping up with the situation in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). It is riveting to see monks who are being shot at as they are peacefully protesting the oppression of the Myanmarese government. It brings back a lot of memories of Tiananmen Square back in 1989.
Matt Frei, a BBC News reporter wrote an interesting article, which he implicates China’s role in either dissolving the situation or exacerbating the situation. You can read it here.
It has been said, “We must live with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.” Now, in our technological world, “we must live with the Bible in one hand and a computer in the other.”
World events are significant because it was back in late 1996 where the Japanese Embassy in Peru was taken over by the terrorist group Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. I remember watching it on CNN as it was showing the unfolding of events throughout the day. I still remember being gripping by the situation and praying to God for the situation.
As I look back, I see how God used that event to move my heart to make a scouting trip out to Peru in 1997. Then in the following year, we sent our first missions team out to Peru.
I am convinced of 2 things: 1) With God, there is no such thing as coincidences and 2) God uses world events to speak a conviction in our hearts.
In light of this situation in Myanmar, I am lifting up a prayer for the situation and that peace can come quickly. I am also praying that God will one day open the doors for the Gospel message to be embodied by a group of people who have developed a heart for the country and the people because of what they saw on their computers and television sets.