There are numerous wars and conflicts taking place around the world but many of us in the western hemisphere are unaware of them because we are enjoying peace in our society. One of the signs of the time that Christ mentioned in Matthew 24 was that we will hear of rumors of wars. This simple means that not every country will experience war.

Wikipedia published a list of ongoing conflicts that are taking place around the world. Apart from listening to the news on CNN, I was never interested in researching these wars and conflicts until recently when I decided to dedicate this month to signs of the time.

As I browsed through the list and saw the death rate caused by these wars I was literally in shock. If you are like me who is ignorant about these things you will also be astonished. Wikipedia listed the wars according to the amount of deaths produced per year.

For example the current wars that produced a death rate of 10,000 and more are: The Mexican Drug war which began in 2006; Syrian civil war or the ISIS war which started in March 2011. In January 2011 conflicts began with the Iraqi insurgence (this includes the American led intervention in Iraq in 2014) and also the ethnic violence in South Sudan.

The top two ongoing conflicts which have a yearly fatality rate of 1,000 to 9,999 are the Israeli/Palestinian conflict which began in 1948 and the Afghan Civil War or Taliban insurgency which began in 1978. The accumulative fatalities from these six wars in 2013 are 110,650. So far 2014 gives a total of 49,548 deaths. These figures are astounding and the possibility is that they could be more.

Why are all these wars and conflicts?

The apostle James also asked this same question,

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?”

In other words James believed that the desire to war comes from inside a man’s heart. A person may see something that he wants and will try to acquire it by whatever means necessary. The spirit of lust in men’s heart will drive them to the extreme to obtain their desires.

In fact the scripture continues that when you lust and do not receive you will covet and even murder. But you still may not obtain your desire so you fight and war in order to forcefully receive it. Do you believe that all wars stem from the spirit of lust?

According to the bible, lust is the underlying factor that produced strife. The bible also tells us in this same passage that when we want anything we can ask the Lord for it. The Lord will grant it to us if our desires are not base upon lust and covetousness. In such circumstances the Lord will not grant us the desires of our heart. (James 4:1-3).

According to Wikipedia, the Mexican drug war developed as a result of illegal drug trade and rivalry between drug cartels for regional control and power. These illicit drugs involved millions of dollars hence conflict developed as a result of lust and greed.

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an Islamic militant group who captured a large portion of land from northern Syria to central Iraq thus acquiring some of these countries assets and oilfields.

According to CNN, the group began in 2004 as Al Qaeda in Iraq. However it is believed that the ISIS group is more brutal and violent than its predecessor. Their main purpose is to establish an independent Islamic state in the region. In order to achieve their goal the group killed many people by public executions, crucifixions and other horrific crimes.

They continued to seize land in Iraq and Syria by force which caused many people to flee their homes and became refugees. The UN estimated that approximately 1.2 million Iraqis have been displaced from their homes. The crisis became so alarming that in the summer of 2014, the USA and other countries formed a coalition force to begin airstrike against this militant and determined group.

The Wikipedia listed approximately forty wars and conflicts that are currently taking place all over the world. If you research the background of these wars it will be revealed that they resulted from lust and greed for power, money, land and wealth. This blog cannot provide detailed information about these conflicts. Its main purpose is to wet your appetite for knowledge so that you can do your own individual research and be informed.

The entire world is not at war. There are certain places which are at peace. Therefore those of us who are enjoying peace have a tremendous responsibility. Our duty is to intercede and pray continually for all those people who are facing severe persecution as a result of these wars and conflicts that are occurring in their country. We all know base on experience that when you are facing a crisis in your life it is difficult to find words to pray. It is then that you need someone to stand in the gap and intercede on your behalf.

We need to destroy the spirits of pride, lust and greed which are ruling in the hearts of these militant people and we need to release the spirits of humility, peace, love and satisfaction over them.

My next post will discuss another popular conflict which is currently taking place in the Middle East.

Share with us your views and knowledge about these ongoing wars that are currently taking place around the world.

References: CNN explained ISIS; Wikipedia