Donald Carter was ordering dinner at a fast-food restaurant when he noticed that the young woman taking his order looked exhausted. He asked her if anything was wrong, and she told him she was working double shifts to pay for nursing school. However, it was clear from the desperation in her voice that it was a real struggle. So Donald decided to do something about it. He created a GoFundMe page, and within a few days people from around the world had raised the $7,000 that she needed. What stood out to me about this story was the impact a single act of kindness can have in the world. Because of Donald’s generosity, this young woman’s career as a nurse will positively affect the lives of thousands of patients in the years ahead.
As followers of Christ, we’re commanded to obey him, though the results of our obedience are in God’s hands, not ours. And that’s a good thing, because God often works through our simple acts of obedience to bring abundance and incredible blessing to the world, all according to his good purpose.
The story of the loaves and fishes in the Gospel of Matthew illustrates this truth brilliantly. When Jesus asked his disciples for the food they had, they obeyed, probably with a lot of confusion. Five loaves of bread and two fish doesn’t sound like enough to feed them! But they obeyed anyway, and the results were abundantly more than they could have ever expected! Matthew tells us, “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matthew 14:20-21 NIV).
This overwhelming abundance is a clear example of the type of blessing God often brings about from the simple acts of obedience he asks of us. Sometimes it might be as small as a one-time donation to a worthy cause, or maybe an extra night of volunteering. And sometimes, it might be as simple as starting a GoFundMe page for a waiter who dreams of becoming a nurse. But whatever it is, when his Spirit prompts us to obey, we should do so with the faith that our God can bring abundant blessing through it, no matter how big or small the act.
I’m Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.