If you read my previous post, you’ll see me processing how difficult it was to wait for resident permit results in the Middle East, and how I was learning more about trusting God during that time. Now let me explain a different perspective. It was actually quite easy.
Long story short, my residence permit application was denied, I left the country in a hurry and returned back to America. So I’m in the states for about two more months, then I’ll return to my country of service and re-apply.
You might wonder why I’m now choosing to explain this as an easy situation.
Well, before I had to leave the country, before I even knew I would get denied, my team and I had been lifting up prayers for the refugee community we work with. One prayer was for them to be approved for residence permits. I remember sitting on the floor during a team meeting, lifting up this request to God and immediately feeling so humbled. Comparably, my situation was easy. The worst thing that happened to me was that I had to return back to my home in America, welcomed by my family’s open arms and open doors. For our refugee friends, this is not the case. If anything, America would be the preferred place to be relocated and start a new life. Our refugee friends worry about being deported back to countries at war. Who knows if they would even have a home or a family to go back to.
The world is so broken, unfair, and unjust. I realize the situation I’m in is due to my privilege. Yes, it was really unfortunate that I was denied. It personally wasn’t easy for me and my team, and I can still admit and accept it was hard. But wow. I’m so very privileged to be a citizen of a safe country. It makes my situation as an immigrant seeking a visa easy, and it makes me upset that not everyone has that imunity.
I’ve been given a privilege that I don’t deserve. It isn’t just or fair. But on another note, it reminds me of an advantage that none of us deserve, yet we all have full access to it.
The best privilege we have is to know Jesus.
We can’t earn it. We don’t even deserve it. God gave it to us through his only son, Jesus.
Through any situation, we can keep our eyes on someone we can fully trust. Someone who we know is there walking with us. In every circumstance, there is so much hope found Christ. Whether it’s my situation or a refugee’s situation, whether it’s a seemingly small or big circumstance we face, Jesus is our hope. He is hope for the world. And he is available for all who seek him.
I so wish for those who don’t know Jesus to find Him as a friend, but I wish this even more so for those truly struggling in the world. Because Jesus is a game changer when it comes to facing circumstances that are unjust. Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:3-5)
In a broken world, where people aren’t treated with fairness, God is still faithful and pure and just.