Lebanon (MNN) — Near the end of last year, Lebanon experienced a severe economic downturn. As their currency’s value plummeted, unemployment and suicide rates skyrocketed.
Then, the year came to an end. 2020 came along, and with it, a global pandemic.
Just like that, suicide rates all over the world began to climb again. In Lebanon, where refugees have little to call their own and locals are still recovering from a devastated economy, despair is commonplace. Starvation runs rampant.
And when you can’t make ends meet, a disease encroaches on your country, and no one seems to have a tangible solution, what’s the point?
We know the answer: Jesus Christ. But many Lebanese do not have a personal relationship with God. They do not have that hope.
“There is so much so much hardship and depression that people cannot cope with it anymore and decide to end their life,” says Nuna of Triumphant Mercy. “It’s that dramatic.”
More than just the end of COVID-19’s continued spread, Lebanon desperately wants a lasting solution for people who “have no more future in mind, no more sort of a tomorrow.”
(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy)
Right now, most Lebanese locals do not have any sense of what can be. “There’s really no vision for anything,” Nuna laments. “No vision for a tomorrow, no vision that things would change, no vision that there would be a solution of any kind.”
So pray.
“Pray that the God of hope would come, that the Holy Spirit would move in the nation and bring hearts to himself,” Nuna asks. “We cannot rely on a new government or new economic system or new solution of any kind. Those are just temporary solutions, but people need Him.”
As Triumphant Mercy continues to point Lebanon toward God, consider how you might support their efforts. And pray. Pray for hope, peace, safety, and health.
“We need him to just come into hearts, change hearts, and find solutions.”
Lebanese invidiuals struggling with suicide or depression can find help here.
Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.
