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Why are the nations restless and the peoples plotting in vain? (Psalm 2:1 NASB).
God will give His Son the nations as His inheritance and the ends of the earth as His possession, as we read in Psalm 2:8. That’s a fact, because God has said it and because it’s recorded in His Word! Still, as we consider the state of our world today, we can’t help but ask how and when this promise will become a reality.
Have you taken your place on the wall?
Peering now into the gross darkness on this earth, we may wonder if we aren’t so lost that God could give up on us. The nations are restless, and they’re plotting against each other. Our governmental systems are fraught with corruption.
In 2020, our city of Lubbock, Texas, faced a situation steeped in darkness. Five grandmothers began meeting on Zoom to pray during the COVID lockdown. We prayed over the pandemic and the sad condition of our nation. Amid our concerns about COVID-19 and how our government was handling it, we happened to discover that Planned Parenthood was making plans to enter our city with intentions of opening an abortion clinic. We immediately declared, “No! Not on our watch!”
We began asking God what to do. One of us suggested we put up billboards bearing the message that unborn children do have destinies. We did so, and these billboards were effective: Citizens reached out to ask how they could help. Many wanted to contribute financially toward the billboard project. From this humble beginning, God formed a movement we called Project Destiny. The name was intended to declare that the destinies of these unborn children were being ripped from them; they had no choice in the matter, no voice. Project Destiny has since grown into a statewide movement to protect the unborn. God started a movement out of the prayer time of five praying grandmothers who asked, “What can we do?”
After starting the billboard campaign, we approached our City Council to present the idea of an ordinance to be called the Sanctuary City Ordinance. One of our state senators encouraged us to pursue this. The ordinance would prohibit abortion clinics from opening in our city. The City Council resisted the ordinance, so we organized a group of about 100 people to attend a council meeting. Group members were given time to stand up and speak about the issue of abortion. To our dismay, though, after everyone had spoken, the City Council voted unanimously not to become a sanctuary city.
Our next step was to collect signatures to put the issue before the citizens for a vote. Many citizens united and became involved in a full-fledged campaign for life! The citizens voted for Lubbock to become a sanctuary city on May 1, 2021, with 62% in favor of the ordinance, and only 38% against. Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit that got dismissed on June 2, 2021.
Further, on Oct. 23, 2023, our county commissioners were urged to vote to make our county a sanctuary county. That ordinance passed by a 3-0 margin, with two commission members abstaining. This ordinance restricts access to our county highways and airports for anyone out to traffic pregnant women seeking an abortion across state lines. This ordinance became another level of protection for the unborn.
In the process of our campaign, our citizens met the challenge of how to help women who were pregnant and unsure of their ability to care for a child. The outgrowth of the challenge resulted in the development of several new ministries in our city. One such is called Heritage House. A young couple bought a building in which abortion procedures had been performed years before. This couple’s goal was to provide a place for moms to live while walking through an unplanned pregnancy. The home would provide safety and security and teach Christian values to these mothers.
The couple has spent long hours remodeling that building, raising funds, planning the program, and developing a staff. To highlight the power of the redemption of our God, the woman who received the vision for this program and bought the building had herself had an abortion in that very building. Her husband fully supported her vision! God has redeemed the building and used her testimony for the purpose of helping other women. Our Redeemer lives! A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on May 4 of this year.
Just this weekend, Lubbock celebrated yet another victory. We were once again challenged with darkness encroaching upon our city limits. A few months before, an ordinance was presented to the City Council to decriminalize possession of 4 ounces of marijuana. Four ounces can net between 220 and 250 joints, and that’s enough to be considered dealing marijuana. The ordinance would limit law enforcement officers’ questioning of people they stopped if they happened to see or smell marijuana in the vehicle.
In cities where such ordinances are in place, crime rates, overdose deaths, suicides, and mental illnesses all escalate. Thankfully, our City Council voted against this ordinance. But its sponsor then collected enough signatures to get the ordinance placed on the ballot. Once again, Project Destiny mobilized and launched a campaign to protect lives. The citizens voted against this ordinance on May 4, 2024 — 65% against, 35% in favor. God’s protective hand prevailed once again! We’re rejoicing over this new victory!
Lubbock is catching the vision that just as individuals have destines, so do cities. Some spiritual leaders had prophesied that Lubbock would become a sanctuary city — years before the term was ever used in regard to protecting the unborn. Other cities are now looking to Lubbock for leadership and inspiration; they understand that what is accomplished in one city can be achieved also in others. As we seek the salvation of our nation and other nations, it’s important that we first dispel the darkness within our cities. When we extend ourselves to become the light, God can use us. After all, five praying grandmothers never dreamed that a statewide movement would evolve from their declaration: “Not on our watch!”
We began in prayer. God answered those prayers and guided us step by step in connection with other citizens for dispelling the darkness. City by city, as we unite to bring light into our cities, that light will scatter the darkness and begin offering the hope of change to this entire nation. God desires for us to partner with Him in illuminating our cities.
Jesus will have His inheritance! The nations are His!
Share this article with a friend and start praying for your city!
Myrna Weaver is an IFA intercessor co-laboring with others in her city. She and her husband, Barry, have lived in Lubbock for 35 years and raised their three children there. Now retired, Myrna continues to volunteer with local ministries. She is the author of A Journey to the Golden City of God: Discovering God’s Destiny for Your City, Trilogy Christian Publishing, available on Amazon. Photo Credit: user:Redraiderengineer – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.