Surely it couldn’t be real. Yet there it was on our screens and newsfeeds. With no time to plan or even think, millions were fleeing their homes with whatever they could carry.
“People are incredibly worried and stressed,” shared one Our Daily Bread Ministries worker in Ukraine. The invasion in March 2022 forced her to close the Kyiv office and escape with her children to Poland. “It’s a situation we cannot begin to solve. We need the Lord to lead us.”
Our UK staff team sat together, numb with shock and sadness, feeling a strong spiritual bond with our brothers and sisters—yet hindered by earthly powers to offer them the aid they so desperately needed.
Reflecting on this precious bond between Christians, Peter explained that behind earthly borders now live “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (v. 9). In His grace, God has transformed us, elevated us from being individuals of earth to His own special nation, transcending every regime and conflict together.
Isn’t it amazing that we’ve become royalty in the richest kingdom ever known? God has bestowed this undeserved honour upon us, whether we’re comfortably at home or fearfully confronting out-of-control situations. This truth became the foundation of our prayers. Because of our friends’ royal status with us in God’s kingdom, we knew the King would be with them and would work for their good.
By Chris Wale
REFLECT & PRAY
How does it encourage you to know You are part of God’s “special possession”? How can this inspire your prayers for believers you know who are suffering at the moment?
Heavenly Father, my God and King, thank You for making me part of Your holy nation. May my prayers be infused with the confidence that comes from knowing I am royalty in Your kingdom.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter gives four characteristics of the church followed by a purpose statement. The apostle tells members of the church what and who they are and then tells them what their identity is meant to do. The description of the church in 1 Peter is similar to the description of the people of Israel found in the Old Testament. The church is a chosen people (compare Deuteronomy 7:6), a royal priesthood and a holy nation (compare Exodus 19:6), and God’s special possession (compare Exodus 19:5). These qualities allow the church to fulfil its mission: to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
J.R. Hudberg
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