A Biblical View On Social ChangeSample

Provision

Can you think of a time when you felt overwhelmed by the sheer size or scale of a challenge or task you were facing? What did it feel like? What did you do?

My friend, Mary, felt this. Life in Uganda was hard for her. Her husband disappeared, leaving her with four small children. They lived in a mud hut with a thatched roof and had one goat. Mary worked when she could and earned a small income, but there was never enough and her family was always hungry. There was certainly nothing left over to pay for school fees for her children.

One day Mary heard about a Bible study at her local church. She attended even though she wasn't a believer. When she heard about when Jesus fed five thousand people in one day, she realized God was concerned about hungry people! The study looked at how Jesus encouraged His disciples to work together to make sure everyone was fed. Along with others, Mary was inspired to start planning for a different kind of future with her children.

Mary and her family started growing crops to sell and managed to raise enough money to buy a few chickens, then some pigs, and finally two cows. This made a very great impact on their lives: a balanced diet, clothing, school fees, better shelter, and medication to treat sickness.

Mary is radiant today. She walks closely with the Lord and has seen how He has helped her and her family provide for themselves.

Reflect:

As we think about the challenges facing our own community and our own lack of resources, what particular encouragements are there for us in this story?