Lent Devotional: RestoreSample

Restore: Climate change

Climate change means disaster, and it is forcing us to take a long, hard look at humanity’s relationship with the earth.

From flooding to wildfires, droughts to hurricanes: the world can no longer resist the effects of our over-consumption. And it is always the poorest who feel these effects most deeply.

Take our work in Malawi, for example. Droughts had become so bad the government was forced to declare a state of emergency last year. In a country where 85 per cent of the population rely on agriculture for their survival, this goes deeper than lack of food: it means lack of livelihood and, ultimately, life.

But disasters can remind us who we are. We live in such divided times that sometimes it takes disaster to bring out the best in us. Generosity and global community; climate change can serve as a timely reminder that we must cling to God’s mercy together.

Creator God of the wind, waves and the sun; as the world groans and creaks under the weight of our greed, help us to tread more lightly. Be with our brothers and sisters across the world who are bearing the brunt of climate change today. Restore to them your hope, and bring justice where it is most needed. Amen.

Josie Hicklin, Tearfund