“Is not this the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him and not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Isaiah 58:6-7
I want to share some stories of need today. Specifically, how God uses members of his body, the church to provide for each other’s needs both spiritually and physically.
Speaking of summer, last summer, my friend Will and I had the honor and privilege of visiting Kampala, Uganda. For about three weeks, we were given an opportunity to ask the Lord in prayer what he wanted us to do and then going out and doing it. One day Will and I went out on a prayer walk, and we felt led to walk to a group of 10-20 strangers playing pool and strike up a conversation with them. (It was mainly Will’s idea, I find it hard to talk to strangers, especially a large group of them like this) However, we went up and struck up conversation with them and one of them named Joseph, out of the blue asks us to talk to him about Jesus. We were able to establish a relationship with him over the course of the following weeks and I find out that he had recently became a Christian, giving his life over to Christ from Islam. Incredibly, during this time of quarantine, he reached out to me asking for help. He didn’t have anything to eat and the quarantine has taken away his ability to work. I was able to give him a little bit to help him in his time of need, but little did I know how God would use this to spark his work in Kampala. God used my friend Joseph in Uganda, to bring several of his friends to Christ and gave him a vision of planting a church in his community where the hope that Jesus offers can be shared with everyone around him. I can’t express to you in words how blessed I feel to have partaken, in however small a way, in God’s massive plan of redemption for those that are lost and without hope in Uganda. It is one of my deepest desires to go back to Uganda, hug Joseph and see the work God has done through some of the moments of greatest need in my brother’s life.
Two days ago, I got a random message on my Instagram from a 22 year old man in Uganda, asking if he could introduce himself to me. His Instagram page is called God’s Grace Children’s Ministries and he is currently caring for 25 orphans and sharing with them the hope of God. He was 7 years old when he lost both of his parents in a fatal car accident. Stranded and left to fend for himself, he sought out any way for him to survive, including collecting scraps, begging and stealing for 11 years. At age 18, a group of missionaries came and told him about the hope that he could find in Jesus, they got him off the street and connected him with a church that taught him to read and write and as he studied, he worked selling small snacks and biscuits on the street. After giving his life to Jesus and following him, he was never the same. He has made it his mission to care for orphans and provide for them the hope that was so desperately missing from his life. He started with three children that he cared for and over time, he couldn’t refuse more and more and over time God has provided for him and his children. I can’t help but think that this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship that God is going to use to unleash physical and spiritual blessings on his children.
It is like God has us all at a massive gift exchange. He gives some of us a massive physical budget to give and he gives others a massive spiritual budget, then he pairs us off to exchange gifts. Those that give, receive a gift in exchange worth far more than the gift they gave. This is why it is written, “It is better to give than to receive.”
As I was spending time in prayer this morning, the Lord put it on my heart to give those of you reading this exhortation;
Pray for your brothers and sisters around the world. There is so much need and brokenness all around you. Ask God to break your heart for them and go make a difference. You cannot go and change the whole world, but you can be God’s answer to someone else’s prayer and change their world. God answers the cries of his children, and I believe that his answer is us, the church when we are sensitive to the needs of our brothers. Whether it is someone around the world or someone just across the street, there is someone God has put in your path to bless and he has given you all you need to do it. The only question is, Will you obey?
