Verse of the Day - Philippians 4:12

(I've been at the hospital since about 3:30am this morning with a friend, so please allow me to revisit my VOTD from this day last year, 9/15/07. Thanks.)

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
~ Philippians 4:12 (NIV)

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I read an e-news article today about the people of Zimbabwe being in such poverty that they are resorting to eating their pets. And the vets are running out of drugs to euthanize those pets who are abandoned because people won't eat them, but can't afford to feed them. They reference "acute shortages of food, and inflation at an astonishing 25,000 percent." Does your heart cry out for these people? It should.

I've often wondered how people who suffer in poverty like that can come to know Jesus. Don't they wonder, "If God loves me, why am I starving? Why are my children dying before my very eyes?"

And yet, the Holy Spirit calls people to seek God. And He uses His children to bring help and hope. Read on, from another news source...

This African nation has the world's highest inflation rate, even at the official estimate of 4,500 percent. Unofficially, independent economists in Europe say inflation rates are as high as 11,000 percent and rising. The U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, estimates the inflation rate will rise to well over 1.5 million percent before December.

"People can't survive like this," says a Christian aid worker. "Even people who have jobs have a hard time buying food. That is the situation in Zimbabwe now. The churches must respond to this crisis." According to the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, churches are now involved.

Ray Motsi, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Bulawayo, says his church members really didn't have a choice in responding to the needs of their fellow countrymen: the needs walked through the door one Sunday. It happened two years ago, after Operation Clean up the Trash, when the government demolished homes that were allegedly built illegally. Those left without a home or a job were forced back to the villages with no way to support themselves.

"The community literally walked into our church. We didn't go to them," Motsi says. "We never planned to go to them, but God had other plans for us. He wanted His church to become the oasis of life in a crisis. It's a task we are still learning."

Churches across Zimbabwe report hundreds of people coming to them each week with needs ranging from school fees to medicine and food. The Christian aid worker says at least 50 people show up on her doorstep every day. The program she directs has the means to help only around 15 people per day. She offers a clinic to help with basic medical needs, as well as a twice-a-week feeding project. The program also helps widows taking care of orphans with rent and basic food. "By far, the greatest problem is meeting day-to-day needs for the average Zimbabwean," the Christian aid worker says.

"The church has always been more concerned about salvation and tithing, but are we limiting God when the church functions like that?" Motsi asks. "God deals with the nations. He feeds the poor and heals the sick. He wants the nation of Zimbabwe for His purpose and glory. God is redefining the role of the church in Zimbabwe."

Cross and other pastors agree. Most churches have an ever-expanding social ministry program, relying on God to meet their basic needs every day. Cross says the church also must be an example to the rest of the nation for not only meeting physical needs but how to "move on" with life. His church is home to many from the two warring political parties in Zimbabwe.

"We have members of the two political parties in our church. We try to show that the two parties can fellowship together," Cross says. "The only hope for our nation is unity through Jesus Christ." (http://mnnonline.org/article/10117)

Praying for their country - A young man above prays for the "brain drain" in Zimbabwe as many people have left the country in search of jobs and stability. Churches throughout Zimbabwe have been called to lift their country up in prayer. Many reserve a special time in each service for prayer for their country's recovery and revival. (IMB) PHOTO

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Contentment in all circumstances...please pray for the believers in Zimbabwe, that they can show their unsaved countrymen what Jesus can do for their heart needs, as they minister to their physical needs as best as they can.

I confess...I had no idea today's devotional would take this turn, and I'm certainly not being paid to solicit funds for African aid. But my eyes were opened today, as I delved into this tragedy in just one country in Africa. How many more around the world are in the same boat? Too many to count.

And how does our contentment meter read? I think that, more than likely, we in middle-income America are more than spoiled. We can become discontent at the least insufficiency, for things that don't have anything to do with basic life necessities.

What?!? Where is my Weather Channel? You mean the cable company wants me to pay $5 more per month for this now?!?!

I'm getting tired of my grocery store. They don't carry my favorite "43-grain, non-fat, 7-calories-per-slice" bread anymore! 74 types of bread on the shelves, and they can't squeeze in my favorite kind?!?! Hmph...

Yet, in Zimbabwe...

If you bought a loaf of bread for 50 cents last year, it now costs around $1,125. Or more likely, you'd end up spending $2,750 at the unofficial inflation rate found in most stores.

God wants to fill up our desires with His desires, staying focused on Kingdom issues and concerns. When we lay down our lives for Christ, His agenda becomes our primary concern. Our wants and needs take a back seat, and we accept what He provides for us. This takes discipline, in order to "keep the main thing the main thing."

Paul ends his thought with this: "I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Do we really stand on this premise, or do we throw in the towel when inconvenience and obstacles get in our way? Are we learning steadfastness, or flightiness?

How about this: Try fasting for a meal, and praying for Zimbabwe's people. Or go to your pantry and fill up a grocery bag of food, and take it to someone you know who needs it in your community. Begin to experience contentment in Christ, as you seek to serve Him by caring for the hurting world.

Love,
Joelene