Day 79
Principle: The only appropriate response to life is joy.
Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, a Christian relief organization, tells of an extraordinary event he witnessed with his own eyes. During the Korean War in the early 1950s, tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from the Red Chinese army attacking the north poured into South Korea. Under siege, in the middle of a freezing winter, the embattled city had lost all electric power. Churches opened their doors, having all night prayer meetings.
At four o’clock one morning, a dark, unbearably cold church was filled with multitudes of refugees. Women who had watched their homes burn and their husbands tortured to death sat in the frigid building holding their children close. Most were dressed in nothing but thin, padded cotton. The worship that night was filled with tears. In the midst of this traumatic scene, the pastor of the church decided to take an offering for the hundreds of refugees still coming into the city.
With great passion he entreated, “Something must be done to help those who are coming to us. What does this congregation have to give?” Those shivering in the crowded pews had lost their homes, businesses, and savings, and were themselves in desperate need. The pastor continued, “…and so we will give an offering of clothes.” It seemed an unthinkable request; insensitive to the obvious needs of the people surrounding him.
Yet the pastor’s appeal brought an extraordinary response. An elderly, emaciated man came forward, removed his vest, and solemnly laid it on the communion table. A young mother took the sweater off her baby and tucked the infant inside her own clothes. Soon, the table was piled high with clothes. Their lives were shattered and broken, but these nameless saints counted it all joy to literally give the clothes off their backs. If joy is how God responds to life, and if He is truly living in us, then joy must be how we respond to life as well.
- Have you ever experienced joy while in a very challenging situation?
- What do you think caused you to be joyful?
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