THAT HANDS AND FEET THING

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

^1-3The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Yesterday was an ACTION PACKED day. Lots of clients! Lots of volunteers. The "TREE" was BUSTLING! But sandwiched in between all the requests for assistance was a brief little chat with one of my most dedicated and hard-working volunteers.

She got to talking about what it is like to be the helper rather than the “help-ee”. For many years she was the one on the needy end of the spectrum. But now she had taken her place on the other side and she was learning that life on that side of the coin has its share of frustrations too. To be honest she was “venting” a little if you want to know. But I don’t blame her.

Helping can be hard. Giving can be grueling.

You see she was struggling with the way in which some of the folks she had been helping were either “unappreciative” or dare I say “greedy for more”.

But as we talked, I shared a little lesson that I have been and continue to be learning when it comes to helping. I explained that when we help; when we give, we don’t do it for the “help-ee” or even for ourselves; we do it as an act of worship.

Hebrews 13:16

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

I want to give her a ton of credit! Once she caught that drift, her tone completely changed. I think she even appreciated my help!

But it is true.

GOD honors our help and heart no matter how it is received or how it makes us feel.

Proverbs 19:17

Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.

The reality is sometimes when we are helping other folks it is easy to get caught up in their response or worse yet merely help so that we get noticed or feel better about ourselves.

Instead we should merely help to represent GOD!

Proverbs 3:27

Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person.

Isn’t that a cool passage?

To know that when we offer a helping hand to someone in need that we are an extension of the hand of GOD Himself?

That puts a new perspective on that whole, “hands and feet thing”now doesn’t it?

"Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good”… ~Saint Teresa of Avila (How do you like that one NJ?)

So when you REACH your hand to help today or during this holiday season, remember a couple of things.

YOU are GOD’S hands.

It is an ACT of WORSHIP.

And when you give and help with a generous heart and mind you’re helping and giving will never escape HIS attention and YOU WILL BE BLESSED!

Luke 6:38

Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.

I love you all!

Have a blessed weekend.

Freedom Church

Pastor GDelaney