Reach out to the weak

Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.

Scripture: Psalm 41:1 (NIV) Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the Lord delivers him in times of trouble.

As I send out e-mails and resumes in my search for a job, I can’t stop thinking about one thing: How can I serve the needy, or, as David calls them, the “weak.” I am part of the 9 percent unemployment rate right now, but I just started and finances aren’t an issue. During the week, I meet with large groups and small groups of people trying to find a job. I look at all these men and see opportunity to reach the lost. They may be unemployed, but they still need to know that God cares for them and wants a daily relationship with them.

So I pray for opportunities to just talk to people. I think I’m down to two areas of service: cooking for the homeless and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. God has given me certain skills, and I want to use them for his kingdom. I love to cook, but I’ve pretty much decided that I don’t want to cook for a living. My focus in getting work is in the writing and editing area. Cooking one day a week would give me a chance to be around other cooks and hungry people. HFH would give me the chance to get men involved and to use their carpentry skills for the good of others. I have the same desire to go to Mexico and build houses for the poor.

I shared my idea with a pastor friend, and he just nodded at the idea. He asked me if I had carpentry skills, and I laughed. “My gift is visualizing the idea and organizing its conception,” I told him. My hope is to get men to see that they still have value, even though they are unemployed. Maybe we’ll meet on the jobsite once a week, and at day’s end, we’ll open up our Bibles and study God’s word for a little while – right there in the parking lot. Then we’ll pray for each other. “See you next week guys. Good luck getting a job.”

What that does is that it shows people you care. In showing people you care about them, it shows that God cares for them. Jesus essentially said the same thing in Matt. 5:1 in the Beatitudes, that the poor in spirit will be blessed. My spirit is good right now, and I want to share with other men (you, too, gals, if you want to come along) that Christ is filling up my self esteem basket to the brim. No matter what we go through, God can use us to share the Gospel with those around us, but especially “the poor in spirit.” They need Christ.

How does this apply to my life?

Today’s prayer: Lord, fill my spirit with your goodness today. Help me to be loving to the unloved. Help me to reach out to one person today. Amen

Doug Mead
Parenting Solo

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 64

This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/june.asp?version=51