Day 17 | SERVE -Where the world has need

Today’s Scripture:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” - Isaiah 52:7

Full Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52: 6-10

Today’s Thought: 

Let’s pause for a moment and think about the joys of traveling across the world. Why did you travel? Vacation. Honeymoon. Retirement. Won a trip (if this is you, feel free to write a comment and share that story). Get-a-way. We travel for a variety of reasons and we look for the “rated” spots, those 5-star reviews with beautiful scenery, amenities, great food options and some experiences that we can check out with our families or loved ones. We desire to experience the world, but in the safety and comfort and knowledge of how things will go. 

The place where the world has need is not often that. It is not 5-star rated, in fact it might not have access to basic technology like cell service or power. The food will be local and fresh, but maybe not to the FDA standards that we are accustomed to. The living conditions won’t include adjusting the air conditioning to the temperature you are comfortable with. The air might not be freshened with the smell of clean linens but rather smell of the animals that roam on the countryside behind the home. 

The world has need. It is not a need for comfort, it is a need for shelter from the storm. It is a need for sustainable access to food. It is a need for clothing. It is a need for care. The world has need. 

The Neighborhood Church meets these needs in Cambodia through building schools for children and helping with ministries that provide daily food. In Uganda, we serve the villages in sustainable practices teaching them how to resource and leverage their community to come together including stoves, trees, latrines and more. Lastly, we clean up the community and spend time at the local aids orphanage. It is an incredible way to serve. 

The world has need. Are you willing to meet it, it might be uncomfortable, but I believe in you and have faith in you!

Today’s Prayer: 

Let us pray.

Lead me to uncomfortable faith. That faith that meets people where they are. Lord, do not let distractions seize me from serving you on mission. Let me explore what it means to see the beauty in those who experience life differently than I do and let it teach me about truly what is a need in my life and what is a desire. Let me serve those who do not have what I have so they may teach me to trust God in my life with all things. Lord, send me. Send me to a place where my faith in you will deepen and a place that I will serve in such a way that brings people into a deeper relationship with you or brings people to a relationship with you for the first time. Let me be an instrument of your peace. It is in these things that we pray, in your Holy and precious name, and all God’s people said,AMEN.