If you watch the news or listen to the radio, the world can seem so out of control. The Bible says that in the last days there will be great turmoil in the world. As followers of Christ, we might think there are only two options: sit back and say that Jesus is the answer, and that this is all part of his plan, or run around stressed out and hopeless, trying to figure out what to do about it. Neither of those is the way that God wants us to respond. Instead, we can realize we live in a fallen world that struggles and is filled with strife, and choose to be light in the dark places as often as we can. As Casey Coats said in week one of this series, “You can’t do everything, but you can do something!”
There is a story about a young boy walking on the beach after a hurricane. He could see thousands of starfish that had washed ashore. Picking them up one by one, he began throwing them back into the ocean. An older gentleman approached the boy and said, “Son, you are wasting your time! There are thousands of these all over the beach, and you can’t make a difference.” The boy looked up at the older man as he picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean and said, “It made a difference for that one!”
We can’t solve the world’s problems. We can’t even solve the problems in our own families, so how does God expect us to make a difference? It is very simple. He expects us to love people one by one by one, binding up the broken-hearted, mourning with those who mourn, giving hope to the hopeless, and being the hands and feet of Jesus to the hurting.
As we walk this week in a fallen and broken world, ask God to give you eyes to see needs, a supernatural ability to hear the hurt in people’s lives, and the compassion to act in ways to show Christ.
“For in this world you will have hard times, but I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:33
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can make a difference, one person at a time.