December 3, 2025

Viewing all things through the lens of the True and the beautiful!

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The True

Send over End

“God shifts ‘Lord, end’ to ‘Lord, send!’” The speaker was Pastor Steffen Humbert and this articulation of Isaiah 6:8 echoed a messaging that has been stirring in my heart:

We want to accomplish a solution for suffering when God’s plan all along has been to send His power through us into that suffering.

To be candid, at first blush this sounds like an awful trade! Who in their right mind would want to shift from aiming at solutions to aiming at association with the problem? On a human plane, this is a laughable proposition.

But when Jesus chose to associate with our sin and suffering, it proved to be the very mechanism by which our redemption was secured, and we are called to follow His example!

This truth is applicable to countless societal ills, but in my world it is perhaps most visible in service to the orphan. Brooke and I have the privilege of serving with A Fearless Life, an organization with a mission to find and fund a family for every adoption-eligible foster child in America. As we work to mobilize Jesus followers into this mission field, it is so very natural to cry out to God for an end to the suffering. After all, no child should be without family! That is a biblical truth revealed in many passages including Psalm 68:6: “God sets the lonely in families.” Every child deserves and benefits from being set in a family, and it is why we believe passionately in the mission of A Fearless Life.

Even so, the challenge of being orphaned—and a litany of other forms of human suffering—will never end on this side of heaven (Matt. 26:11). God’s plan is to send rather than end. He longs to make His power real in our physical world, which is why He designed you to be capable of channeling it! He has a plan to rush aid and remedy to the wounded and the suffering, and you are that plan!

What a high privilege it is for you and for me to be called to this role. It is not up to us to end suffering, but it is our role to consent to His plan. You and I must be willing to be sent and associated with suffering, and in that sending will be birthed the remedy for it.

At A Fearless Life, we are unapologetically dreaming of and working toward the day when the waiting list of adoption-eligible children will be replaced with a waiting list of families ready to associate with the struggle of being orphaned. Will that day usher in an end to the struggles of being without family? No. But it will be a greater realization of God’s plan to make Himself known to a hurting world through the infilling of His people!

Send is even greater than end! Best of all, send is so very practically possible. Its only requirement is that you step forward with a willing heart.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Is. 6:8).

U.S.

National Guard Shooting in DC

One member of the West Virginia National Guard is dead and another is fighting for his life after an attack in Washington, DC the day before Thanksgiving. The alleged shooter has been identified as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who previously worked alongside the CIA in-country before evacuating and seeking asylum in the U.S. Lakanwal has been living in Washington state and is accused of launching a surprise attack on National Guard members serving in Washington, DC. Twenty-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds on Thanksgiving Day and 24-year-old Staff Sargeant Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition but has shown recent signs of improvement.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Two innocent young people serving their country were tragically gunned down. That is the reality of this story. There are many competing narratives aimed at pointing blame in one direction or another, but the most important point for The Equipped community is to acknowledge those who have been harmed and are grieving, and to look for ways to come to their aid.

We should be praying for the Beckstrom family and looking for ways to comfort them in their time of great loss. We should be praying for the recovery of Staff Sargeant Wolfe and seeking out ways to lend support to the Wolfe family. These are the primary ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus. How can we stand with the families of two innocent young people gunned down while serving their country?

As for what we should learn from this story, there are many factors and, per usual, you will only be able to fully consider them if you first set aside a political lens and intentionally choose to consider all components of the story. Lakanwal is one of approximately 190,000 Afghanis who came to the U.S. after the controversial U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan in 2021. His entry into the U.S. was authorized during the Biden administration and his asylum application was approved during the current Trump administration. According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he was radicalized after settling in the U.S. and there are numerous reports he was increasingly isolated and unstable. There are several reports of friends and community members expressing concern for his wellbeing in recent months. In this last regard, his profile is eerily similar to that of other recent violent offenders.

There are several high-profile public policy decisions that must be made in the wake of this attack. Should entry into the U.S. by Afghan nationals be subject to higher scrutiny? How should the asylum process balance the legitimate needs of those fleeing persecution with the inherent risk of radicalization?

Maybe most pertinent for our community here at The Equipped, how can we speak life and flourishing into a generation of young people increasingly prone to radicalization?

That last point is perhaps most important because, a) Even in a world of perfect public policy, we live in a fallen world, and b) We have the answer troubled souls are looking for! His name is Jesus, and we are the way in which He is introduced to those who don’t know Him.

Pray for the Beckstrom and Wolfe families. As you do so, consider how to be the vessel through which lost and troubled souls find rest and restoration in their Savior.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb 6:19).

World

Double Tap Strike

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is under scrutiny after a military operation he authorized conducted a second strike on a boat in the Caribbean carrying alleged drug traffickers. An initial strike is believed to have killed nine and left two survivors, both of whom are believed to have been killed by the “double tap” strike. According to the White House, the strikes are a part of larger effort to eradicate drug traffickers in the region responsible for transporting narcotics into the U.S. More than 80 alleged traffickers have been killed during the operation, according to reports.

Secretary Hegseth is now facing allegations of a possible war crime for the second strike, but the White House and the Secretary contend both strikes are part of a legally permissible lethal operation to defend the nation against drug trafficking.

Analysis and eternal perspective: This is yet another story where seemingly incompatible narratives collide. On the one hand, it is a largely undisputed fact that drug trafficking into the U.S. is an existential threat to American citizens, and it is a natural response to work to eradicate that threat. On the other hand, it is of paramount importance to guide and wield the heft of the American military in a way that points toward flourishing. Complying with established rules of war plays an important part of that mission. This is clearly a both/and mission and it will be crucial for U.S. leaders to be devoted to that cause over devotion to a political narrative.

Illicit drugs are destroying the lives of millions of precious Image bearers. Elected officials—in the U.S. and abroad—have a clear duty to defend against this ill. Each of us has a role to play in this effort, especially in our own neighborhoods and communities. We should be personally vigilant and relationally protective of those within our sphere of influence. There are scores of biblical encouragements in this vein, but perhaps the most poignant is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Two are better than one. Who are you supporting? Who are you able to lean on? Independence is held up as a virtue, but as Jesus followers we are clearly instructed to be accountable to each other.

World

Progress Toward Peace

A 28-point peace plan originally crafted by the U.S. is reportedly down to 19 or fewer points after meetings between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders—the most prominent being France President Emmanuel Macron. President Zelensky says the pared-down plan “looks better” but continues to express concern over the prospect of ceding any territory to Russia. As peace talks continue, the fighting continues to wage and Russian troops continue to control large areas within the borders of Ukraine.

Analysis and eternal perspective: Earthly peace is so very elusive. It is elusive in large part because it is so subjective to the beholder. Peace to Russian President Vladimir Putin is a restoration of the old Soviet Union while peace to Ukraine President Zelensky is retention of sovereign Ukrainian territory. That is not to draw a moral equivalence between the two views but simply to illustrate why Earthly peace is so elusive—there is no common target.

There is, however, a common aim for peace for Jesus followers. It is described in Isaiah 9:6-7, a passage often quoted in these weeks leading up to Christmas: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end."

True peace is an eternal peace secured by the Prince of Peace. It is the only peace that lasts. As we pray for those in the crosshairs of war, let us lead with supplications that they would know relationship with the author of eternal peace!

The Beautiful

Unexpected Surprise

“Dad, we have baby chicks! I’m not kidding!”

Our son Parker’s exclamation before running away left me confused. I was on a phone call and it would be a minute before I could investigate, but sure enough, one of our tiny bantam hens had managed to hide a nest of eggs under some cover in the garden and had tended to them over some very cold weeks until they were ready to hatch out. Our first inclination of anything at all was when Brooke encountered the tiniest bantam chick you can imagine running around a very frigid garden. What an unexpected surprise in December! In all, five chicks had survived and are now under a lamp in a brooder!

Sometimes beauty arrives unexpectedly. Honestly, the unexpected part is often what makes it beautiful! Our flock hatches out chicks fairly regularly, but this is the first time we’ve been surprised by a nest full of chicks in the middle of winter!

Be on the lookout for unexpected beauty in your life. When it shows up, resist the temptation to focus on the inconvenient timing and instead be reminded that your God sees you and loves to surprise you with good and beautiful gifts (Matt. 7:11)!