After more than 50 years, the doors of diplomacy have finally been reopened between the United States and Cuba. Unexpectedly brokered by Pope Francis in Vatican City, restorative efforts by both Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro have resulted in the call to the end of the U.S.-imposed trade embargo, the lifting of travel bans between the two countries, and reinstatement of their respective embassies. Assuredly, the pontiff’s first stop en route to America was Cuba.
With words of encouragement, Castro attested to Pope Francis’s triumph, avowing that he would consider returning to the faith in which he was born. The communist leader added that he would resume prayer again if the Pope continues in this vein. In a similarly poignant statement, President Obama was quoted as saying “you don’t have to be imprisoned by the past”, noting that President Eisenhower bolstered the severing of ties with Cuba in the same year that the current American president was born. The impasse of five decades no doubt resulted in economic, social and political disorder, with industries on both sides and the Hispanic populace bearing the burden and countless families torn apart.
Have you experienced or observed close relationships or families who are likewise unduly interned by the past? Equally devastating are those long-standing quarrels and generational wars that have been passed down through the ages, the true roots of which are unknown or have dissipated. Often, at the core, there is the needless legacy of mistake and misconstruction. Yet, due to faltered loyalty, spiritual blight or mere habit, ongoing feuds persist. Thus, tragic karma such as poverty, addictions or separation is recycled again and again. Today, the Lord is calling for restoration and the rebuking of ancestral strongholds that are keeping individuals, friendships and family units in abeyance. Not all will welcome repose, however, as consequential as two contending nations coming together, in His glory, He can reestablish all that the past has stolen. Simply ask in His name with a repentant heart and with praise.
Joel 2:25: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten…”
God Works Always 