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You May Never Know…

By April 13, 2014August 30th, 2022Lost in Translation

…the impact that you are having on others. I say this because every so often something happens that comes back and affirms that people are being impacted by the words that are written on these pages 5 nights a week, but believe me, it isn’t often…

Late last week, I received a note from someone who is apparently a first time visitor to the TBTB site. She is from Louisiana, I think, and she wrote me as she was sitting in the hospital next to her terminally ill mother – suffering from pancreatic cancer in addition to her Alzheimer’s disease. Julia (yes, her real name) reached out and asked for prayer during this trying time in her life and the life of her mother. She let me know that she had been web surfing – looking for something to give her comfort, and she happened to come across one of my posts about the death of my friend, Roger, several years ago from the same dreaded pancreatic cancer.

Little did I ever think that a heartfelt post I wrote about losing a dear friend would ever be used by someone else to find comfort. I have to tell you that if there was a way that Roger could keep on giving, even after his death, he would be all about that. I never knew Roger to withhold help in any situation I ever saw him deal with and I’m sure that you can imagine my surprise when Julia told me about her exposure to that particular post.

I am reminded of the Scriptures about how we are to serve, and give, without expecting anything in return. In fact, the Bible is quite clear on this point. Admittedly, for many of us, it is difficult to try and make a difference in the lives of people and then not ever know if you are having an impact. This is similar to the way it was years ago as my ministry partners and I assisted people who were out of work in their efforts to find employment. Many times, they would stop coming to meetings and every now and then, someone would receive an offer of employment. But it was a rare thing for us to be kept in the loop to know how everything had turned out.

By the way, as frustrating as that was, it’s the way that God intended us to operate. Sometimes we plant seeds (sow) and sometimes we reap, but we never know where we are in the process. And just because we were instrumental in planting seeds doesn’t mean that we have a right to expect that we will be the ones around at the time of the harvest. This particular time, with Julia, God sent me a little surprise – an encouragement that the work I have done for several years has had an impact of people I have never met, or even heard of, for that matter.

The verse for this evening is from Matthew 6:3-4, that tells us, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” My encouragement this evening is that God knows what you are doing, even if nobody on earth does. My prayer is that you may find peace and contentment in doing whatever you can to impact people for the kingdom of heaven on earth and that you will be satisfied with the role that God has entrusted to your care. Who knows – from time to time you may even receive a little encouragement yourself about how you are impacting God’s people. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…

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