Lebanon (MNN) — Potential talks between Lebanon and Israel this week depend in part on how negotiations between Iran and the United States unfold. But no matter what happens politically, believers in Lebanon have a long road ahead.
“Things are really very difficult, and getting even more difficult,” says Pierre Houssney with Horizons International. “We’ve gone through a lot of crises in Lebanon, but this one definitely feels different.”
Even after the 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel continued near-daily strikes on Lebanon.
“We see this new round of war, which has been about 40 days now, as kind of an escalation. But it’s not like there wasn’t war or strikes happening before,” says Houssney.
But last Wednesday, things became much worse. Hours after a temporary ceasefire was announced between the United States and Iran, Israel struck more than 100 targets in Beirut in 10 minutes. The strikes killed over 300 people and wounded more than 1,160, according to an initial count by Lebanon’s civil defense.
During that 10-minute span, Houssney was at a gathering with 90 pastors seeking to work together better. They heard the boom of the strikes and realized what was happening.
Smoke from the explosion in Beirut. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International)
“We were actually launching a website which was helping us to coordinate needs and resources,” says Houssney. He says the then-recent US-Iran ceasefire wasn’t discussed. “The operating assumption of everybody was that, ‘Hey guys, let’s unify more and more practical unity, working together in the Kingdom.’”
Houssney says many people felt the Wednesday attack was like the August 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion: It came out of nowhere and demanded that people leap into emergency mode. He describes a rush on hospitals, chaos, and fear.
“So many families that got disconnected from one another, don’t know if the other one is alive. Or losing family members, you know. Their whole world [was] falling apart on that day. So it’s been quite intense and difficult,” he says.
At the pastors’ gathering, one leader reminded Houssney and the others that God looks at their hearts, not whether they can meet every need around them.
“I thought that was quite deep and important, because sometimes we do want to meet all the needs and we feel like we fail to do so,” says Houssney. “The point is we respond with our full capacity, making sure that we are being faithful.”
Today’s headlines may feel overwhelming, but Houssney urges believers to stay focused on the gospel mission wherever they live.
Throughout Lebanon, Horizons staff members meet with people in their homes to share the Gospel and pray together.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Horizons International)
“I always have to come back and just recognize my own human limitation, but then also my calling, that the Lord has called me to spread the gospel to everybody that’s around me,” says Houssney. “That is absolutely the best thing, the most impactful thing that I can do in the light of these headlines.”
As you pray for Lebanon and Israel, pray also for direction and boldness to reach your own circle of people with the gospel of Christ. Then go knowing that your brothers and sisters in Lebanon are doing the same.
Header photo courtesy of Horizons International via Facebook.
