Written by Brett Yee. Artwork by Phoebe Shen.
On a snowy day at a missions conference, a group of students was going to lunch when they encountered a homeless lady. She asked for some money and they gave it to her, and they also invited her to lunch and asked if they could pray for her. She had eaten already, but she accepted the prayer and in fact prayed as well. As they were praying, one of the students felt the Spirit tug at him to give her his winter jacket, and he did. The next day, through a series of God-ordained encounters, he met the same lady. She told him that the temperature had dropped 15 degrees, and she thought she would have frozen to death. And because of the kindness that he and his friends showed her, she had told fifteen people about Jesus that day!
God wants us to be available to do his mission each and every day. Are we attuned to Him? He may be asking, but with all of our distractions in life, we might be blocking him out. We could be missing incredible opportunities to witness, show our faith, or tell our faith to our friends and family, or even complete strangers! God is preparing encounters, little blessings to encourage us and to let others have an encounter with Him! He is asking us to join him on his mission!
It doesn’t have to be weird or crazy or dramatic. People could be hungry for a prayer or a blessing or encouragement! (Or maybe a jacket!) We are all equipped with those and more! Sometimes we just have to ask. What will make us open and available to God’s daily mission? Paul tells us in the armor of God: “As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” (Eph 6:15). We must be ready!
Read Acts 8:26-40.
Why did Philip have to share the gospel? What was his activity throughout the day and what does that say about his priorities? Where are you already equipped (your testimony is a good start!), and where would you like to grow? What fears do you need to ask Jesus to heal in you? What things are you holding onto that get in the way and make you unavailable to do God’s mission?
Reflection Questions
1. Can you remember a time when someone made themselves available to you? What kind of impact did their kindness have on your life?
2. Are you willing to go out of your way to demonstrate the love of Christ to someone? If so, pray for an opportunity in the upcoming week to put this willingness into action.