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- Written by: Don Goulding
“Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?” (Matthew 6:25-26)
Food and water, check. Sleeping bags and pillows, check. Extra toilet paper, check. On our first mission trip to Mexico, we were nervous about the big three—food, beds, and toilets. For mealtimes, we ate from tin cans. At night, we crawled into our van and shut the doors. And we wrinkled our noses at the bathrooms. The orphanage children must have thought we were loony.
Now I travel for months with only a knapsack. I’m learning that my bond with Jesus is defined more by my trust in his provision of basic life needs than it is by success in global ministry.
If I live on more than $2.50 per day, then I’m richer than half of the world’s population. The poor have a trust that develops through the contact required to live out of God’s hand. The half of us who have more than $2.50 miss that primal relationship.
To live out of God’s hand means I pray through my needs instead of trying to fix everything with money. It means I know my value to my Father, embrace his faithfulness, and wait on his generosity. Taking each necessity from his hand reminds me that his touch is near. I can rely on him for breakfast this morning, for money to pay bills tomorrow, and for life in the full through eternity.
In addition to increasing my trust, perching on God’s hand also infuses me with the courage to help the impoverished half of the world.
Prayer: Loving Father, may I trust you today like the birds of the air.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Finally, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, affectionate, compassionate, and humble. Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9)
Secret agents of grace live among us. Their mission is to infiltrate our world with acts of redemption. Every day, they reverse some of Satan’s evil. Where there is hatred, they inject peace. Where there is sickness, they dose with hope. They sing healing over the seas, and cleansing for our polluted lands.
Although they radiate inner light, these agents appear quite average on the outside. They have crooked teeth and unassuming clothes. They blend in every way. Nothing about them would give away their true assignment. They are single mothers, hunched grandfathers, and polite doormen. Blending allows them to slip into the very grit of our lives and minister there.
Most are unaware of the agents of grace. Yet, if they were recalled from duty, extracted in mass, the world’s lunacy would go unchecked. Pain would have no answer. Brutality would stand unopposed. The secret work of the agents is all that prevents hell from overrunning earth on this very day.
A distinguishing mark of the agents of grace is their refusal to claim recognition. They continually deflect praise, saying they never gave anything that wasn’t undeservedly given to them.
Who are these incognito agents? They are any who follow Christ by choosing to love as they have been loved.
Prayer: Father, let me spread grace today.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
The Lord said to Jonah son of Amittai, “Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people …” Instead, Jonah immediately headed off to Tarshish to escape from the commission of the Lord. … The Lord sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:1-3, 17)
Two weeks before a mission to the Middle East, I received a message from the brother arranging my trip.
“I am very sorry to let you know there are many problems in Pakistan. Bombing and shooting. It looks very dangerous, but do as the Lord leads you.”
It was a heated election season aggravated by volatile politics with America.
I asked the Lord if I should make the trip. He let me recall Revelation 12:11. But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
What is safety? Jonah would say that running from ministry results in more danger, not less. He found himself tossed overboard into a killer storm and swallowed by a fish. Only when he obeyed God did the umbrella of protection open above him.
As I agonized over my Middle Eastern trip, I realized there were far greater dangers than the threat of deportation or death. I could lose my chance to honor Jesus in this life. Wasting my few earthly hours on my temporal self is the epitome of foolish, risky behavior.
Safety for the truest me comes from abiding in the exact spot God calls me to. Even if my health suffers, my bank account zeros, or my friendships sour—obeying God guarantees my soul is in the crosshairs of his protection.
I did go to Pakistan. We had to take precautions, such as traveling at night and posting guards, but I saw the kingdom of God expand with power. Serving Jesus under threat was like soaring beneath the wings of angels, whereas safeguarding my hide would have felt like being stuck in the belly of a fish.
Prayer: Father, help me obey your direction and rest in your protection.