Tag: Faith

Is fear gripping you? Remember these words …

“But God” … two words that even COVID-19 can’t defy.

When news headlines get worse by the hour. When it feels like an invisible enemy is stalking us. When we are forced to live in isolation. That’s when the words “But God” can break the grip of fear and set us free to look up and see the One who fights our battles for us.

Whenever people in the Bible faced impossible situations, they were reminded that nothing is impossible with God. One of those times was in 2 Chronicles 20 when Jerusalem was besieged by enemies and King Jehoshaphat cried out to God for deliverance. God answered through his prophet and said, “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

The battle we face now is a threatening virus that makes us afraid. And it’s okay to be afraid. Nobody wants to get sick, or worse. It’s normal to protect ourselves and those we love. God knows how we feel.

That’s why World Concern is taking precautionary measures to stay healthy, keep COVID-19 from spreading, and protect the most vulnerable among us.

It’s what we’ve always done in the remote places where we work. In the same way that we train villagers in the prevention of malaria, parasites, and water-borne diseases, we are training them in ways to prevent COVID-19. We take this threat very seriously. And we are doing everything we can to strengthen the health of these precious communities.

We care about your health, too. We are praying for you! Please continue to pray for us and those we serve.

 

The Lasting Impact of Living Out our Faith

I had an amazing answer to prayer I want to share with you. I have been out traveling for the past two weeks, first at a conference in Haiti, then meeting with donors in the U.S. I ended the trip with a meeting with a foundation in Colorado.

The foundation wanted to meet World Concern’s new president and hear my vision for the future of World Concern. During the meeting, the executive director asked me how World Concern lives out our Christian faith in our work. I explained the challenges of the different contexts where we work, and mentioned to her that one of the ways we express our faith is during staff devotions in all of our offices around the world.

The executive director became very excited as I shared. She told me that she had met a young woman in Colorado who was from Laos. She was here studying and was working part time at a Christian agency. She was intrigued by how this young woman had become a Christian, so she invited her to lunch on her last day in the U.S. before returning home to Laos.

The young woman explained that in 2007 she had worked as an intern for a Christian organization in Laos, where every day they prayed and read from the Bible to start the day. During this time she had opened her heart to this Jesus she had heard about through those devotions, and gave her life to Christ. The executive director was so moved by this story that she wept in the restaurant and thanked God that there were agencies that truly lived out their faith in places like Laos.

She asked the young woman to send her a CV so that she could introduce her to her daughter, who also worked in Laos. At this moment in our meeting, the executive director searched through her files and found the CV. There on the CV was the name of the organization that through their daily devotions had led this young woman to Christ.

It was World Concern.

I cannot even begin to explain how moving this experience was for me and for this executive director. I am so grateful the Lord allowed us to see his work.

That young woman from Laos was only involved with World Concern for a few months and now, all these years later, she continues to live out her faith. However you are connected to World Concern—as a staff member, a supporter, or a beneficiary, let us believe that God will continue to go before us in extraordinary ways and supply our every need. Surely He is able.