I’m writing this article to speak to three things; Gods provision, Gods authority, and Gods grace.
This week, we got another opportunity to have a church service with the police force in Chichicastenango. Essentially the way that the police station functions in Guatemala is that there are specific departments. There is a specific department for tourism police, and this particular branch of police are frequently rotated throughout the cities in Guatemala. It’s possible that they only stay at one statio for a month or a couple months at a time.
The life of these police officers can be difficult because they are often away from their families for extended periods of time. On top of this familial separation, officers are also often viewed unfavorably by the general public. It is not uncommon for officers to suffer from struggles such as depression or alcoholism.
The grace in this situation, is that when police officers get stationed in Chichicastenango, they get invited to hear the Gospel at New Generation church. They hear the Gospel, and then often get sent out into somewhere else in the country. Thank you, God!
Last week we were unable to have church with the police because most of the tourism police were sent to the borders of the country. The reason for this is that when Biden began allowing migrant children into the US, children began disappearing from Guatemala. Guatemalan parents are literally handing over their life savings to strangers promising to take their children over the border into the US. I am told that unfortunately, many of these children end up either sold into trafficking or find themselves in situations far worse than the ones they left.
Regardless of what anybody believes about politics, it’s a scary reality that the decisions made in our country can have such positive or destructive effect on families countries away. It is easy to look at difficult situations and wonder where God is in them. I don’t know all the answers, but what I do know is that God has authority over all things under then sun.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
What I do know is that there are a good number of police officers in Guatemala that know the Lord. There are officers that look at people with the same eyes as the Father. I have no idea what happened when they were sent to the border, but I know that because of Gods grace there were officers who when dealing with tough situations, choose to reveal the Kingdom of God.
After our service this week, one of the police officers addressed us and said; “A lot of people hate us, they close their doors to us. But this is a place where the door is always open and we feel the peace of the Lord when we walk in the room.”
The police officers are just people. People who cry sometimes, and have real hurts, and know what it’s like to feel unwanted. God loves them for no other reason than because He made them. He loves you for no other reason than that He made you.
I pray that I love Him not for what He does in my life, or where I perceive Him to show up or not, but for the simple reason that He is the great I Am and the inventor of life.
I don’t always understand our broken world. I don’t get why families have to be separated or why people feel sad. I do know that as people we can’t be perfect on our own. We will never fix anything or fill any void on our own strength. But where we are weak He is strong.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
God is not a means to an end for us, He just is and for that I am grateful.
Well said Court!