Jan 29
MATTHEW 9:35-38
“JESUS TRAVELED THROUGH ALL THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF THAT AREA, TEACHING IN THE SYNAGOGUES AND ANNOUNCING THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT THE KINGDOM. AND HE HEALED EVERY KIND OF DISEASE AND ILLNESS.
WHEN HE SAW THE CROWDS, HE HAD COMPASSION ON THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE CONFUSED AND HELPLESS,LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD.
HE SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, ‘THE HARVEST IS GREAT, BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW. SO PRAY TO THE LORD WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE HARVEST; ASK HIM TO SEND MORE WORKERS INTO HIS FIELDS.'”
My wife Lori and I served as missionaries in Southeast Asia for 20 years. I realize that this may seem like something you could never imagine doing, but even for us there were seasons that our faith was small. During one of these seasons, I started struggling to believe that God was at work around us. It seemed that every time we tried to share about Jesus with our Muslim friends and neighbors, no one was interested. I knew that Jesus had said in Matthew 9:37, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” but I wasn’t seeing this come to life around me.
At one point, we were invited to a church meeting in a home. In this meeting, there was a Muslim woman that had been invited by her co-worker. She was in the middle of a very difficult divorce. Her husband was physically and verbally abusive, and she had two children. Without the support of her husband, she was struggling to meet the family’s needs.
During our time there, Lori began to share the Gospel with this woman. She opened up an app that had the Bible in her language, and Lori shared with her about Jesus. As Lori continued, this young woman began to weep. Lori was confused as to why she was crying, but later she found out that the week before this young woman had had a dream in which she saw a white woman who could speak her language opening up a holy book, and a voice told her that she would explain to her the truth. So the whole time Lori was sharing with her, she was thinking— this is the woman from my dream!
Friends, God is constantly at work all around you. He is working in the lives of your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, and even the cashier where you buy your groceries. I’ve wondered many times since what would have happened if Lori had not been faithful to share that day? What if she was afraid of how this woman would respond as Muslim? What if that co-worker had not invited her to church? She never would have heard the great news that Jesus loved her and had died for her.
There are so many ways that God wants to use you in the lives of people around you. Be encouraged, and ask God to show you how.
Prayer:
“Dear God, I want to join You in the work that you are doing all around me. Help me to see where You are at work and give me the strength and courage to love others as You love them. Help me to love them enough to share about the hope You have given all of us. Help me to invite them to join me at church and to follow you. Open my eyes to see each and every person around me as you see them. Thank You Jesus that You allow us and want us to join You in this work.”
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