The Fourth Estate

The Fourth Estate this past summer was such a big event that it must be covered multiple times- each time touching one of the wonderful moments, quotes, inspirations that came from such an event. An event on 650 very different people with one like mind- to seek peace and pursue it (Proverbs 34:14) and we are starting with the longest running war in Africa.

I won't give you the stats on the war that has been terrorizing Central Africa for the past 26 years but, if you'd like more information, you can see it from earlier here and here.

So onto a bit of inspiration. I was reminded of this particular bit this past weekend when I got to go down to Indianapolis to a Fourth Estate Reunion with three of my Fourth Estate buddies and a bunch of other people I love. For the first time, Invisible Children released a video of a section of one of the Fourth Estate Sessions- a talk from Gary Haugen. He's the man who started International Justice Mission (IJM)- a team of lawyers who fight for the poor and oppressed all over the world. He had some amazing things to say and I was so happy to get to see him again.

He spoke of a woman who had been in captivity as a sex slave. She had been kept in a closet of a room and raped brutally over and over again for months, maybe years. When IJM rescued her they found that she had scrawled something on the wall. On the wall that she would stare at while men abused her in the worst way she had written Psalm 27:

 The LORD is my light and my salvation— 

   whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the stronghold of my life— 

   of whom shall I be afraid?

 When the wicked advance against me 

   to devour me, 

it is my enemies and my foes 

   who will stumble and fall. 

Though an army besiege me, 

   my heart will not fear; 

though war break out against me, 

   even then I will be confident.

What tenacious hope. That's what Gary called it, tenacious hope. I think I would have to call it bravery. That's what we need. So many of us get stuck in our lives and because our lives are so small we get scared. Stepping out and doing something that might be bigger than us is scary. We cringe, we cower, and we excuse ourselves.
But then look at this woman, this woman who had everything in the whole world stripped away and she had bravery. She had hope that God was bigger than her circumstances- He was her light and her salvation. And he came through.
God comes through over and over again and I don't know about you but I still get terrified at the smallest and silliest of things.
So, lets take Gary's challenge. Let us live in tenacious hope. Let us believe Psalm 27 so much that we act as if it were true. Let us change the world with our newfound, God-given bravery and tenacious hope.

"These three remain- faith hope and love." -I Corinthians 13:13