Go Beyond

The writers of the psalms understood what it meant to be in trouble. “How long, O Lord, will you look on?” David cried out. “Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!” (Psalm 35:17). I love the Book of Psalms. There are times when the psalms speak to us. And there are times when the psalms speak for us — times when we are in such utter distress that we must borrow the language of the psalms to cry out to God.

The theme of dealing with injustice is woven throughout the psalms. These writers understood the schemes of the wicked and their unscrupulous ways of oppressing the weak and vulnerable. The emotion is there — in desperate yet hopeful words calling on God to act on behalf of the oppressed.

“O Lord,” the psalmist wrote with assurance, “Thou hast heard the desire of the humble; Thou wilt strengthen their heart, Thou wilt incline Thine ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may cause terror no more” (Ps. 10:17-18).

 This hopeful passage reminds me of Martin Luther King, Jr’s observation: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Ultimately, no one sins with impunity, including those who are guilty of the gross oppression of the weak.

Every year, our missions ministry mobilizes teams to work with our justice partners in West Bengal, India. Kay Smith serves as our point person to connect our folks with young girls who have suffered unimaginable evils at the hands of sex traffickers.

Earlier this year, Kay led a team to work with our friends at Jewels In A Crown, a ministry that reaches out to young victims trapped in Kolkata’s filthy brothels. The focus of this trip was to help these women move toward healing by writing their own psalm and then setting it to music. The response was emotionally overwhelming.

Kingsland member Bobby Miles, a choir director in one of our local schools, accompanied the team and set the girls’ anguished cries to music. The result — an emotionally charged song entitled Hope Bringer. Bobby Miles and Hope Shaw recorded the song in English and incorporated the girls singing in their native Hindi in the background resulting in an absolutely beautiful composition.

Today, we received the first shipment of CDs featuring the Hope Bringer composition. Jewels In A Crown will sell these to raise funds to continue their outreach initiatives in Kolkata. I am grateful for Kay and all of our members who have served victims of oppression and trafficking in Kolkata and beyond. These initiatives are a key component of inviting all people to experience true fulfillment in Jesus Christ, one home at a time.