Jesus
was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and
every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because
they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said
to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore
beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38
Just
recently a couple staff members and I were invited to join Compassion
International on their mission trip to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I had no real
personal desire to go on the trip, only a feeling that I should go. So I did. I
had been on other mission trips, so I kind of had an idea of what I would see
in terms of poverty. But I was totally
unprepared for the life-altering experience I would encounter during those four
days.
When
we arrived at the projects (programs) where the children's needs are met, I was
surprised to see the joy and hope that seemed to shimmer in their eyes. I was
so captivated by the love of God on them that it was hard to focus on the
poverty situations they were in, although it was evident. The children don't
live at the projects; it's sort of like going to a community center before or
after school. The only difference is they get fed a meal and for many of them,
this could be the only meal they receive the entire day.
On
the third day after our visit to the third project, I noticed that something
was happening in me. I kept crying and there was a stirring in my spirit that
couldn't be shaken. I hadn’t experienced this on other mission trips. I have
always had a tender heart toward the poor, but this was something much
different. I began to think of the numerous times I have felt compassion for a
person trapped in a bad situation or how sorrow filled my heart for someone
because of the circumstances they were under.
But again, there was something different about this trip. What was this?
It was HIS COMPASSION that I was experiencing. It was His love for His people
to do something about their situation that was flooding my heart.
I
realized that it was not enough to merely shed tears and tell people that Jesus
knows what they are going through. This may be the immediate response that
expresses my emotions at the time and nothing is wrong with that, but God made
it clear that He is requiring more from me!
Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, 38 “The harvest is plentiful, but the
workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers
into His harvest.” What does this mean
in context to my story? You see in the projects the children were full of life
because they have Jesus in their heart, but there are millions more that are
not in the projects and they want to be. The problem is there is a shortage of
laborers to go get them. Not a shortage of people with need or those who see
the need, but a shortage of those who are moved to action because of the need.
Notice
that Jesus told the disciples to pray that God send workers in the field to get
His harvest. This is what I believe that I experienced in Honduras, a
"command to go", a call to action, from the Lord. It is not that I
haven't been working because I have, but there is much more to be done.
Where
is your field? What is it that tugs at your heart that you can no longer
ignore? Is God "sending" you out into that field? I want to encourage
you to join me, and countess others who are gathering God's end-time harvest; to
seek God’s heart as to where He is calling you to go. If you are already
working, are you ready for your next assignment? There is a great harvest and
they are waiting on you!
Daily
Declaration-I AM A LABORER WITH GOD
Now
he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his
own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God:
ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
1 Corinthians 3:8-9 (KJV)
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