30 Days of HeartworkSample

Hope To One

HEART //

Can we really make a difference in the orphan crisis? Can we make a dent in human trafficking? Can we really decrease poverty's stranglehold? Can we save a whole generation from the destructive road of self-focus? These are the questions that pop into our minds when Christ teaches us to love the poor and the lost. We often get caught up in the overwhelming statistics and end up feeling like we cannot possibly make a difference.

In Mark 5, Jesus made a difference in the lives of two different individuals. In the midst of a huge crowd, he reached out and healed two people, changing their lives forever. He could have been concerned with reaching the whole crowd, or he could have been overwhelmed by the busyness of his ministry, but he chose to focus on just two people in need and gave them hope. Throughout his lifetime, Jesus was focused on the individual. He healed the blind and paralyzed, took time to be with children, and freed the demon-possessed.

We can make a difference in the lives of others... one life at a time. God may not call us as students to end an epidemic or provide food to every person on the planet, but he has given us the resources to bring healing and hope to individuals.

WORK //

When we are able to see past the problems that impoverished children face and instead see the people they are and the potential they have, we will be moved to do whatever we can to help empower them, one life at a time. Take ten minutes to list out individuals in your life who you may think of as having “big problems,” and then make a list of the beautiful strengths God has given them. Remember, for every person in the world who faces tragedy, hunger, or destruction, there is a story. There is an opportunity for light to rise in that darkness. There is hope, and you are called to receive that hope in your own life and to bring that hope to others.