My wife and I just came back from spending a week in Lebanon with a team of 12 from Lake. We had the privilege of coming alongside the organization “Kids Around the World” and a local Lebanese church to build a playground for Syrian refugee children.
Though we have done it countless times, preparing for a short-term mission assignment is an exciting process for us as a family. One important element of the process is to pray and listen to God regarding the assignment. During this time, we felt that there was a great need in the area for the refugee kids, their families and the local church. I wondered what we could possibly do with such a small team in a short amount of time. I was immediately reminded of a similar distressed situation the apostle Philip went through before Jesus fed the 5000+. When Philip realized the problem, he approached Jesus to dismiss the crowd to let them take care of their personal needs. Jesus asked him the question; why don’t you give them something to eat? (Mark 6:35-37 NIV)
Scrambling around, the apostles barely found the famous two fish and five loaves of bread - but apparently finding a little boy’s lunch didn’t solve the problem…at least in the minds of the Apostles…with so little and 5000+ to feed, how could it? But here is another way to read this passage - as an equation - two fish + five loaves of bread + Jesus = a miracle! The little we have, placed in His hands, provided the set up for the miracle to come.
In eight days we were eyewitnesses of the miracle happening in and by the church in Lebanon; beauty came out of ashes, hatred turned to love, sterile churches turned into new life and hope. Churches became a place of healing and church members welcomed Muslim brothers and sisters seeking God among them. It turns out, that our little gift, generated from our own LAC children over the last two years, became an ingredient in Gods’ plan – His equation. A child’s offering fed five thousand plus, our children’s offerings provided a safe and fun playground for hundreds plus! God used our little gifts with His big hands to write a bigger story than we had ever imagined.
Think about a similar situation you are going through. Listen and feel the Holy Spirit nudge. Listen for Jesus’ question; how will you respond? The little things; time or effort you are sharing, placed in His hands is a set up for a miracle, and you too can be an eye witness!
*No official numbers, current UN estimate over 1.5 million people.