WILL WE RISE THIS TIME?

6 min readFeb 27, 2022

The reason why it is so important to know your history is to not repeat it, especially when you should know better. We have the privilege of looking back over time and we see exactly what happened. We don’t guess in anticipation of what might happen because we see what did happen. In stating what we have seen, one wonders if we see ourselves as a part of a much larger picture or do we only care about our own tightly-knitted world that we live within.

At this point in time, we are now connected through the world wide web. We can see each other from afar as though we were present in each other’s native land. In America, we see what is happening daily in the nation of Kyiv Ukraine on the other side of the globe. We see peace-loving people being attacked by an evil dictator who only wants more power and control over the little people. We have seen this playbook countless times before throughout history and yet, the world did nothing until countless millions of souls were put to death and harm. Will we rise this time as a world of humanity?

As people of faith, we’re reminded that what happens to even one of our brothers and sisters happens to each of us. We are the family of God. We are His living body. More specifically, as followers of Christ, we are brothers and sisters in Him. But even if that were not enough, we are fellow human beings on this planet. When one of our fellow human beings suffer the rest of us should feel their pain. Unfortunately, until we see ourselves as a part of a much larger body of God, we will only think of those people on the other side of the planet as foreigners and strangers. However, if you know God and feel His presence in your mortal body, you will feel kindred to people on the other side of the planet that you may otherwise never know in this life. It is through the body of believers that we are bound in Spirit and in Truth. This is how our Father in heaven says we must know Him. If you feel nothing, then you don’t know God.

Think of what Sadam Hussam tried to do a few years back. He wanted to exercise his power over people just for the sake of power and greed. The world was watching. Thanks to knowing our history we were paying attention and the world rose to the occasion. We remember what Hitler did while the entire world was watching. Over six million Jews were slaughtered before the world mounted a defense against such an evil tyrant. This wasn’t the first time such an atrocity has happened while the entire world watched. I could site a few more over the last few centuries but to what avail. Knowing about something and not doing anything about what you know is an abomination to God. Is life worth living if you are not willing to fight for others who need our help? Though we’re not all born heroes, we were all given the breath of life by the same Creator. What is expected of us as brothers and sisters of the same Creator? If you feel no kindred, then perhaps you do not know your heavenly Father.

As an African American, I think of the suffering of my people over so many years. Did the world see what was happening while doing nothing to take a stand? The answer is no! Some of our fellow believers did. Thank God for those who took a stand at a time when we did not have all this worldwide coverage on such a grand scale. You would think that red-blooded human beings would do more knowing what is at stake. If you see yourself as a member of God’s body, then you could not help but feel what God feels. When one member of His body suffers, the rest of the body suffers along with it. This matters not about continental lines drawn in the sand of the shores or lines created by culture or race… this is about the complete body of God and His righteousness for His name’s sake.

I must say that I have been moved by the Spirit to feel all this pain throughout the world. I also feel the need to pray for this world. Just as Christ came to die for us, He forgave those who crucified Him because they knew not what they had done, historically! Fortunately for us, we can look back and see what, why, how, and who. We know the truth and it should set us free. We need not look too far back in time to see this with our mortal eyes. And yet, what will we do about what we clearly see? Will we rise this time?

Why do we continually blame God for what is happening in our world when we have been shown everything we need to see and still do nothing. At what point will mankind stand up and do what’s right, decent, and good? When will we accept the responsibility for what we know to be God’s truth? Or will we cow down and do nothing yet once again while our fellow brothers and sisters of humanity suffer so greatly? Will we rise this time my fellow human beings?

The natural response is, what can I do as an individual with no power of significance? I say to that… one grain of sand does not make a beach but when those grains come together, they are the beach. When two or more come together in the name of our Father, we amass a power that is greater than the power of this earth. That means the issue becomes bringing people together with a common cause. You see what is happening and you should care. Your neighbors see what is happening and they should care. Yes, prayer is the minimum we all can do, but coming together and renouncing what is so clearly wrong would do more than just our thoughts and prayers. Use this worldwide web to let evil know we see him, and we are not going to set aside this time and allow evil free reign over goodness. We have the power of God amongst us. If he wants to war with God, then let him bring it on. The God we know is quite capable of defending Himself. We are His body members. As a unified body with a common cause, we shall win… not by our power and might but by the power of the Creator of the heavens and earth. Fret not! God is with us…

I just goggled tyrants through history and came up with a few names: Queen Mary, where we get the term bloody Mary, Robespierre and the terror in France, Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Nicolae Ceausescu, Idi Amin, some of you might have heard of a few of these tyrants.

If you goggle even further you will find an article on the 13 scariest dictators in history to include even more deadly evil tyrants such as Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Benito Mussolini, and Vladimir Lenin just to name a few. Study your history and see what they did. It was the same power of evil that guided them as it is for that is guiding Vladimir Putin today. He wants power for the sake of power and greed for the sake of greed. He does not care about people. What shall humanity do this time? Are we that feeble… knowing we have the power of God on our side? What is different now that was not as prevalent then is that the world wide web is here to make sure everyone knows what is happening. Will we rise this time?

1. Qin Shi Huang. Reign: 247–210 B.C. …

2. Julius Caesar. Reign: A.D. 37–41. …

3. Attila the Hun. Reign: AD 434–453. …

4. Genghis Khan. Reign: 1206–1227. …

5. Timur. Reign: 1370–1405. …