We are God's hands to help those in need

Let me share a story with you about giving. First of all, I challenge you to pray tomorrow morning, “Lord, today as I go through this day, open my eyes and help me to see what You see. Let me become aware of the needs of others, and let me be there to help them.”  The Lord will open your eyes, I can assure you.

A number of years ago I took my son and his friends to a football game at the old Mile High Stadium. We had six season tickets back then and this was a favorite annual event for the kids and their friends. You know how kids are, especially five boys… I bought them popcorn, hotdogs, and candy. Lo and behold, at the end of the game they were still hungry!  So we left the game a few minutes early because I didn’t want to lose the boys in the crowd when everyone leaves at once.  Plus there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant right next to the stadium on Federal Boulevard, and the back of the tickets had a coupon for KFC. 

We walked to the restaurant and the streets were nearly empty. It was a close game so we were probably the only ones who left. We walked into the restaurant and I corralled the boys to the counter to figure out what everyone wanted to eat.  There was a man in line at the counter in front of us who I barely noticed at first.  The kids were all talking at once and I was trying to come up with a consensus on our order, but I started to notice that the man in front of us did not have enough money to pay.  He was a street person, fumbling in his pockets for a little bit of change, and they chased him out of the restaurant. I stepped up to the counter and placed my order, and then it dawned on me – “that man was hungry and I could have helped him, but I missed it.” I quickly paid for the meal and headed for the door to see if I could find him.  It couldn’t have been more than half a minute later and the man was nowhere to be found. The streets were still empty, but I couldn’t see him in any direction.  My heart was flooded with shame and I prayed, “Lord, I just gave to the kids everything they wanted and even more and here was a man who didn’t have enough to eat and I missed it. Lord, please give me another chance to meet the needs of the hungry.” 

A week later the Lord provided another chance. The Lord is good. My wife and I took our family to Octoberfest at Larimer Square to enjoy the German festivities and cooking.  They have some of the best Bratwursts around. We had just sat gotten ourselves a meal and were sitting down to eat, when I looked through the crowd and saw a homeless lady standing in front of one of the booths. She was looking at all of the food and the Lord nudged me and said, “There’s your chance.” This time I didn’t hesitate. I told my family I would be right back and walked over to her. By the time I got there the man who was running the booth was trying to chase her away. But I stopped him and asked the lady, “What would you like to eat?”  She was dumbfounded and asked “Who, me?”  I said, “Yes, you. Order whatever you want.” The guy who ran the booth looked at me like I had fallen out of a tree! 

I will never forget – the woman ordered ribs. When the man at the booth put the food on  her plate, he looked over at me and asked if there was anything else she wanted with it.  Again, I insisted, “Anything she wants.”  She piled her plate till it was heaping with food.  The joy of the Lord filled my heart as I watched her through the crowd sitting down and enjoying her meal. I felt so blessed that the Lord had given me another chance to be of service to Him. If we ask Him to make us aware, He will show us how He will use us. And when we miss an opportunity He is faithful to forgive us. 

There are people with needs all around us. Most of the time we are so busy that we end up overlooking those needs. If we ask God to point out the needs of others, we will have many opportunities to be of service—and not just financially. Sometimes it is by giving of our time that we can help others. Other times it is by giving a listening ear to someone who wants to share the troubles of their heart. That is what it means to cheerfully give and minister to people—it’s giving of ourselves to others. It’s more than just giving money.