Lebanon (MNN) — Lebanon prepares to hold parliamentary elections on March 27. The announcement comes as much of the country deals with rolling blackouts. Anger over the economic collapse led to protestors damaging the state electric company’s equipment.
The World Bank has called Lebanon’s financial crisis one of the worst in modern history. The government has struggled to put together any kind of recovery plan. The currency lost 90 percent of its value, and ¾ of the population now lives in poverty.
Hezbollah
Big picture? Nuna with Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says Hezbollah hopes to benefit from the crisis, gaining power in the election. “I think this is all a game that Hezbollah playing so that the government would be completely corrupt, completely collapsing. Then they will take over. I think that’s the game. They’re playing with the currency so that we reach that point.”
The goal, Nuna says, is to make people so desperate they will vote for Hezbollah. But the real power behind Hezbollah is Iran, which wants more influence in Lebanon.
Nuna asks readers to pray for something to break Iran’s power in the country. “I don’t know how to pray about this. But I pray that the Lord will just do something that is above and beyond our expectations, because with our natural eyes, we don’t see an end to it.”
Hope in Jesus
Disillusioned with corrupt power structures, people in Lebanon have a deep hunger to know Jesus. Nuna says Triumphant Mercy recently planted a new church. “I have never seen this in Lebanon. I’ve lived here all my life, and we’ve been ministering in Lebanon for more than 30 years.”
Ask God to strengthen this church and all others across Lebanon.
The header photo shows Lebanon’s parliament building. (Photo courtesy of Heretiq, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons)
