Longing for the Realm's Familiarity
Hope Amidst War: The Resilience of Ukrainians
In the heart of Eastern Europe, the people of Ukraine are demonstrating an extraordinary resilience in the face of war and devastation. This resilience is not just physical or emotional, but also spiritual – a hope that continues to burn brightly, even in the darkest of times.
Svetlana, the head of a department at a regional hospital in Sumy, found herself exhausted due to fear, work stress, and health issues. But a retreat in Romania recharged her, and she now feels ready to encourage her family and medical team. Her story is one of many that highlight the miraculous power of hope in Ukraine.
Marina, a 28-year-old woman who got married three weeks before the war began, found hope during the retreat to understand how to draw closer to God. Her husband has been drafted, and she has a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The retreat offered her a beacon of light in a world turned upside down.
Erika, a 47-year-old member of a Pentecostal church in Ukraine, felt powerless and struggled to hear God's voice amidst the sirens, sleepless nights, and worries. But she felt God spoke to her personally during the retreat, filling her with new hope.
These stories echo the words of Paul in Romans 15:13, where he prays for the God of hope to fill believers with joy, peace, and overflowing hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hope, in Ukraine, is not the same as optimism; it holds on even when things do not go well. It is a conviction that something is worth doing, no matter how it turns out, as Vaclav Havel once defined it.
This hope is fostering resilience, community bonds, and faith that empower ordinary people to create extraordinary change and sustain their spirit. Activists are transforming simple spaces into lifelines for displaced persons, offering practical help and healing despite scarce resources.
Faith plays a central role in sustaining this hope. Prayer serves as a spiritual front amid adversity, with Ukrainians praying for protection, justice, family strengthening, and the healing of mental and societal wounds caused by war.
Even Ukrainians abroad contribute to sustaining hope by sending financial and moral support back home, maintaining cultural ties that reinforce a shared identity and purpose despite physical separation.
Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Hrytsak considers rebuilding Ukraine into a nation with sustainable growth as "challenging-nearly impossible-but worth doing." This hope for a better future is what keeps the soul alive in Ukraine during the war.
Hope inspires resistance to evil, perseverance in hardship, and compassion toward others. It enables Ukrainians who have been bombed, displaced, and bereaved to continue believing, rebuilding, resisting, and praying.
Durable, soul-deep hope is a gift from God, as Jeff Fountain, the Director of the Schuman Centre for European Studies, suggests. Hope in Ukraine is not just a feeling, but a force that drives people to action, inspiring resistance against evil, perseverance in hardship, and compassion toward others.
This article was first published on the author's blog, Weekly Word, and has since been shared in Evangelical Focus and Window on Europe under the title Homesickness for the Kingdom. The story of hope in Ukraine is a testament to the human spirit's ability to endure and rise above adversity, fueled by faith and a shared vision of a better future.
[1] [Source] [2] [Source] [3] [Source] [4] [Source] [5] [Source]
Read also:
- Court petitions to reverse established decision on same-sex marriage legalization
- Commemoration of 200 Days of American Resurgence Unveiled
- Minister Bärbel Bas expresses doubts about her tenure as a minister following a recent interview during the summer.
- Politicians from both Republican and Democratic parties are urging President Trump to maintain the security agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom.
