Sunday Snippet: Zimbabwe

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day . . . Isaiah 58:10

Have you or your children ever been hungry? I mean really hungry? This child does know what it's like to be hungry--in the true sense of the word. He lives in Zimbabwe, where there is a severe food shortage. We've heard a lot about the political struggles there, but not as much about the severe hunger problems.

This youngster is receiving a life-saving, daily ration of a corn-soybean-blend cereal from World Vision. I would imagine that he's thankful to receive it. Please don't mind my saying this, but I think it would be good for our children in our households to look at pictures like this one from time to time. I wonder would it help to settle some of the issues we have with them over picky habits about what is set before them. Maybe it would be helpful to pray for the starving children of our world at our dinner tables, children who are thankful for a daily ration like the one above and for children who don't even receive that. Maybe it would be helpful to all of us if we changed some of our ways so that we had less to throw out in the garbage, using the money we save to send to organizations like World Vision, who are trying to feed and help hungry people in many places, including Zimbabwe. Believe me, folks, I am preaching to myself as well.

Anyway, I picked Zimbabwe to talk about because it's special to us at our church. We have a special relationship with a church in New York which is supporting ministry work over there. In fact, their pastor and his wife are there now. And not only that, but one of our dear pastors is headed over there tomorrow to help out with that work. Needless to say, even though Pastor A and the others will be trying to do what they can about the physical needs, they will be focusing on another kind of food. The nourishment of God's Word will be their primary emphasis, particularly what it offers the hungry soul: salvation through Christ Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Pray please for the people of Zimbabwe--for their hunger needs, both body and soul. And please pray also for those servants I've just told you about, who are trying to be used of God, as best they can, to help supply provisions for these needs.