“Suddenly you are an illegal foreigner in the land your forefathers sacrificed their lives for. This was probably the most painful part.” Sylvia Haokip’s family narrowly escaped the mobs in Manipur. While they escaped to safety, Sylvia’s entire life was turned upside down to know that conflict can turn neighbors against neighbor and make enemies out of friends. At the end of a year that has shattered her sense of safety, friendship and comfort, how can Sylvia find the peace that Jesus has promised at this time?
“I felt so helpless,” Sylvia says as she remembers reaching out to her prayer group for support during the initial days. “Our neighbors, our friends, people I grew up, shared food with had such hatred for us. It was devastating and confusing.” Sylvia recalls feeling the pain of being perceived as the enemy among her friends. But she found hope and clarity in God. She realized that her friends who saw her as an enemy now had been fed lies that fueled their fears. “Only God can lift that veil of lies that would set them free as it is setting me free,” she said tearfully.
In the midst of not knowing who to trust and who to turn to, Sylvia experienced the hand of God over her family. “It was such a scary ordeal. But I know it was God right there with us, making this possible, not man,” she said with a smile.
Her walk with God was strengthened each day as she relied on Him for protection, peace and hope. Psalm 84:11-12 kept her going. It says: ‘For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.’
Sylvia’s family made it safely out of the conflict zone and upon seeing her family alive, she broke down. Being reunited with her family meant the world to her. She had proof that God would always be by her side, protecting her, instilling peace in her and drawing her closer to Him. Even in the midst of conflict He gives us peace much like he gave Sylvia and her family.
