"Strengthen My Hands"

One of the astounding aspects of the work (and one of the best indicators that God sustains it) is that it keeps going. From my vantage point, people come and people go, but the work presses on. Case by case and rescued girl by rescued girl, the work places pressure on the oppression that has plagued this country for too long. Hidden behind a culture that is quick to point to the modesty demanded and exhibited in public dress, but which turns its head and ignores the prolific prostitution of underage, abused, non-consenting, detained, trafficking victims- our work sheds the light that nurtures widespread acknowledgment of such atrocities.

These thoughts prompted me to discuss what it is like to labor over individual cases. In one sense, it is deeply fulfilling to know a girl's face, and to know that she now knows a Savior and a new life because of the work of your office. There is also deep satisfaction watching justice come to oppressors, knowing that they will not do this again. Then, there are the failed cases, those that test each person's capacity to deal with frustration and those that pronounce the reality of the surroundings: that the task and the work are far from over, and that the end of prostitution, even just the end of oppressive forms of prostitution, has not yet even reached the horizon. It is the enormity of the problem that taunts and mocks those who choose to fight it.

For example, a few weeks ago, I accompanied a local friend to a "red-light" area for some observations. As we walked down the sidewalk, I was confronted with the public nature of the industry. These were not back alley whispers or sex compartments hidden in the back of disreputable establishments. This was public. In fact, nobody waited inside. The prostitutes and pimps lined the full length of the road and were so numerous that I occasionally had to weave just to keep moving. Everywhere, open doorways led to curtained areas shrouding the inside in darkness. Everybody knew this was where you went for it... and nobody cared. One girl, drenched in makeup, grabbed the back of my arm and offered a gentle tug. I spun around and she smiled, nodded in the direction of a doorway, and disappeared inside. I shivered and continued on. Disturbed as I was by what was on the street, I knew that the unseen girls had it worse. The solicitors had been either brainwashed or compelled. Those locked inside had no choice- they live as slaves for one purpose. I left discouraged, feeling like we could do our work for a hundred years and not defeat this problem.

At church a short time later, God responded through Nehemiah. The pastor introduced the task assigned to Nehemiah- the enormous challenge of rebuilding the wall that surrounded Jerusalem. He probably saw some individual successes that gave him deep fulfillment brick by brick or worker by worker, but that could not have blinded him from the enormity of the problems. The wall was huge, the deadline seemed to short, there was dissension inside the people of Israel about building the wall, and outright, hostility outside Israel. In fact, while the people worked half of them stood as armed guards for the workers and even the workers carried a sword at all times. It seemed an insurmountable task, and it is at this time that Nehemiah proves his worth (6:9), "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking,'their hands will get too weak for the work and it will not get completed. But I prayed, 'Now [Lord] strengthen my hands.'" What struck me about Nehemiah is that he doesn't ask God to divinely take care of it, he asks for God to use him to take care of it. He is asking for the responsibility of the task that he knows he can't handle on his own. It's clear the burden is too great, but he doesn't pray, "It's too much, please take my burden Lord." Instead, he prays for strength to meet the challenge... for God to make him strong enough, smart enough, diligent enough to complete the task God set before him. So, while not as much rests on my shoulders as Nehemiah's, I still imitate his prayer, "Now, Lord, strengthen my hands- so that You may use my work for Your justice."