There are all kinds of ways you can serve on a Wheels for the World Team so, find out more at joniradio.org.
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope with a wonderful blessing from God.
JONI: And that blessing is for you today straight out of Proverbs 14, and this is what it says: “He who is kind to the needy honors God.” Oh, my goodness, what a blessing! I mean, just think, you have the opportunity to bring special honor to the most high God today, just by being kind to the needy. Could be a neighbor home from the hospital, an elderly friend for whom you could run an errand, a co-worker who recently lost her husband, a special-needs mother who’s overwhelmed, or a homeless shelter or a crisis pregnancy center. Friend, all around us are opportunities to serve the needy, and when you take God up on one of those opportunities; when you show kindness to those in need, you bring honor to Jesus Christ. You glorify his good character. You make him shine bright before a skeptical and cynical world.
Its why people sign up to serve on our Wheels for the World teams. Here, just let me tell you a story. It’s when our Wheels team was recently down in Guatemala, and early in the morning of our wheelchair outreach, we met Christina, a very young woman who looked very, very weary. And no wonder, she was carrying her 17-year-old disabled brother, Geovani, on her back. Christina was at the end of her strength when she put down her brother and helped seat him on a chair. It was clear that her back hurt from carrying his weight for so many years. She told our Wheels for the World team that after their father passed away, she knew her family could never afford a wheelchair for Geovani. It made her feel even more exhausted and hopeless. Was she to carry her brother for the rest of her life?
But as Christina watched our Wheels Team fit her brother to his new wheelchair, you could see her countenance brighten. She was moved to tears and cried, “Oh my goodness, with this wheelchair, I can now take my brother wherever I go, and I can do it easily, with no effort.” Geovani was also ecstatic. Our Wheels for the World team came home from Guatemala so inspired and refreshed by that sweet encounter with Christina and her disabled brother. It blessed them even more to know that they had helped lead her to Christ and get her and her brother connected with a caring church in their village. Yes, they came away blessed, but they also came away having given glory and honor to the Lord. For again, Proverbs 14 says that he who is kind to the needy, honors God.
Friend, you don’t have to join a Wheels for the World team to show kindness to the needy; do it in your own neighborhood, at your place of work, in your community or your church. Because there are people like Christina all around you – weary, exhausted, hopeless and looking for help. Ask God to open your eyes and to show you, to tell you how you can honor him by serving needy people around you. And if you don’t mind, I will add a special encouragement for you to serve special-needs people who are hopeless and looking for help. Just ask the Lord to help you use your time, your treasure and your talents to make a difference. And oh, will that bring him honor! Oh, by the way, I so invite you to serve on a Wheels for the World team. You don’t have to be an expert; you could just be good with a wrench and a screwdriver. Just visit our Wheels for the World page at joniradio.org. Again, you don’t have to be an expert. Just be willing and available in having a heart to help. There are all kinds of ways you can serve on our Wheels for the World Team so, find out more at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends