Ahaziah, king of Israel, had just died. His mother, Athaliah, rose up to usurp the throne. Their story is similar to those we hear today, complete with abuse of power, deception and family violence. Athaliah ordered that all of her grandchildren and descendants be killed. She destroyed her own family.

However, a child of the king had been hidden when he was just a toddler. Where was he hidden? The temple, the house of the Jehovah.

And who was there to protect him for six years? A bold priest and some helpers who took care of this little one until he was ready to face the reality of his enemy.

But most important of all was the presence of God, giving strategies to the priest to prepare, teach and assist this little one and mobilize an army to care for him until he was ready. That time came when he was only 7 years old. He bravely stood up to Athaliah, and the Bible says that afterward, “The city was quiet.”

What a great responsibility we have as people of God!

In our positions as priests, servants or soldiers in the army of God, we can protect our children from the reality of violence, poverty and abuse — if we have the presence of God with us. Only then will the children see what is good and right in God’s eyes.

“When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered.

“She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the LORD for six years.” — 2 Kings 11:1–3, NIV

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for the opportunity to care for Your children. Your sweet presence is always with us. In moments of weakness, help us remember that we are part of the army of God. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Martha Morales is a Complementary Interventions Administrator in our
Colombia office.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals.

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I keep a short journal on my laptop, one or two sentences each day about an idea I’ve come across that might be significant to my life if I were to meditate on it enough. I read somewhere that returning to your first love, namely God, is the key to coping and healing from all sorts of emotional pain.

As I’ve thought about it over and over, I’m beginning to think that daily returning to God really is the key to everything in life, from the joys to the mundane routines of life.

At Compassion, we do a lot of things to fulfill God’s purpose of helping the poor. In fact, most of us love to do them and are passionate about the cause.

Sometimes, though, it’s easy to fall more in love with doing the ministry than with the One who called us. And it’s easy to get tired or burned out doing the routine or difficult tasks. Sometimes it seems like progress can be painfully slow.

So how do we make sense of what we’re doing in our service to God?

By returning constantly to our first love, I think. When that happens, monotonous busywork turns into purposeful, joyful effort.

Difficult decisions become better informed by the character of God. Relationships with coworkers and those we serve become more loving. There’s a clearer direction and path as we walk through the maze of too many good things that need to get done.

And the burden of service and living out the Lord’s calling on our lives becomes tempered with the knowledge that it is most important to rest in the presence of God.

John 15:4 summarizes with a beautiful metaphor what God wants for those who serve Him. He says that nothing can be done truly for His glory, purpose, or pleasure unless we remain attached to Him.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” — John 15:4 (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Father God, help us always to return to You and remain attached to You. May all our efforts flow from Your strength and be fruitful.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Carla Hoit is a support specialist for U.S. Constituent Development. The U.S. Constituent Development team works with foundations to obtain ministry grants.

Read all the One in Spirit devotionals.

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Have you ever heard a non-Christian say,

“I have no problem with God or Jesus — only Christians”?

It’s actually a common theme among some nonbelievers. Unfortunately, it’s also becoming more and more common among Christians.

This worries me. How can we serve our communities with Christ-centered joy if we can’t serve each other in the same manner?

Let’s be real. The question I’m raising can’t be resolved in this one small message. But I am asking you to think hard about it.

What’s preventing you from living out a Spirit of Service in your work environment or better yet, in your life?

Wess Stafford washes the feet of a Leadership Development Program graduate.

Is there a bad experience that you can’t forget, a wrongdoing that you can’t forgive, or a fear of being used, mistreated or disrespected?

We all have our baggage, but the great thing about being a believer in Christ is that we have a “safe place” to unload it — the Cross.

If you’re struggling with this concept, I encourage you to consider the following three steps:

1. Meditate on the Bible, particularly on the verses that deal with service.
2. Pray for God to reveal His plan for how you should deal with this concept.
3. Re-examine the way you treat those around you. Are you respecting your co-workers, friends, family, etc.?

It may sound simple, but in order to have a true Spirit of Service, you have to have a spirit of love — and that can come only from God.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” — Galatians 5:13, NIV

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On December 17, 2010, a 26-year-old man in Tunisia set himself on fire after losing confidence in ever finding a better future. Unbeknownst to him, his act of desperation unleashed a massive and violent ripple effect throughout the Middle East and parts of northern Africa that is still going on today.

Then, on March 11, an earthquake of epic proportion devastated one of the most industrialized nations in the world, Japan. The island country, known for its state-of-the-art systems for disaster preparedness, is now struggling to meet the basic needs of many of its people.

Needless to say, the world needs hope.

True hope, however, will never be found in stable and financially secure governments, sophisticated technology, academic achievements, good jobs or happy families. While these are blessings from God and are noble ambitions to work toward, they will take you only so far.

Unfortunately, many of us discover this truth only after experiencing disappointment in a person, achievement or goal that we may have unintentionally elevated as our object of hope for a happier and more secure life. In the end, our real hope lies only in God.

This message is not new. You have heard it before, but I believe it is important to say again as we are all experiencing different seasons in our professional and personal lives. For some of you, this may be a season of comfort and peace. If this is you, praise God. However, remember that your season and the blessings from it are from God.

For those whose circumstances are a little more challenging, remember that God sees you, too, and knows where you are. Recall and recite the words of the Psalmist:

“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” Psalm 31:24 (NIV)

So whatever experience you are currently facing, take it to the One who already knows all about it. The God of Abraham is still the Jehovah Jireh of the 21st century.

Rest in Him, and may you find your joy, righteousness, peace and greatest hope of all in Him alone.

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God gave me breath, and God gave me time. I did nothing to get them. I just have them. And I’m starting to think that I’m treating His generosity like a bad renter treats a home – with disrespect.

I could have been born into poverty and oppression like the children I sponsor. But I wasn’t.

You could have been born into poverty and oppression too. But you weren’t. Why?

I’m tempted to end this post here, with the profundity of “why,” but I don’t know what the point would be. I don’t know my point. What does a post full of unanswerable questions have to do with the children we sponsor?

I don’t know.

Maybe God’s telling me to let go. Maybe He wants me to put my faith in Him, to stop needing a reason for everything I do. Maybe He has plans for this blog and for Compassion’s ministry — plans that I’ve been getting in the way of.

I don’t know.

Maybe He wants you to let go of something too. I don’t know.

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Could it be that perhaps God sees a more complete picture of this life than we do from our limited perspective? Maybe He sees the whole where we just see part …

Karl, a Norwegian fisherman, had taken his two teenage sons out for a day of fishing. The morning had been beautiful when they started out, but the afternoon turned nasty – in a hurry – catching them too far at sea to beat the incoming storm to shore. The wind-whipped ocean began to work into a frenzy, until he and his sons were battling for their lives. As darkness fell on their frantic efforts, even the steady beacon of the seaside lighthouse was suddenly extinguished by a terrific bolt of lightening. Hope seemed lost.

But things were actually worse than Karl knew. Lightning had also struck his home and the structure quickly erupted into a fireball. So when Karl and his sons finally staggered ashore, exhausted, he was met by his wife with the bad news.

Strangely, Karl seemed unfazed, much to his wife’s frustration. As he stroked her tear-lined face with his tough, leathery hands, he said, “Don’t you understand, sweetheart? When the lighthouse went out, the glow on the horizon became my compass. The fire that destroyed our house guided us home.”

Poverty is evil, no question about that. But God is still working in the midst of it. He is creating beauty out of ashes. We might not be able to see everything that He can, but we can trust Him because …

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28, NIV)

Compassion Vice President of International Program, Mark Yeadon, shared this story last week during our quarterly ministry update. It is taken from a devotional from Family Life.

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Kudra is now taken care of by his grandmother. After the death of his father, Kudra’s mother remarried another man and left Kudra with his grandmother.

The grandmother of Kudra, Miriam, is now 53 years old, a widow taking care of seven grandchildren, of whom five are AIDS orphans.

Miriam is a subsistence farmer and became a widow as the result of the 1994 genocide. She is a Muslim woman but also believes in the healing power of Jesus Christ.

“I have been blessed to know more about Christianity during my encounter with Compassion student’s center at the Presbyterian Church.”

Dear Good Samaritans,

I am very proud that I am alive so that I can witness and testify to the love of God through Compassion’s ministry in our area. Dear Compassion, you picked up my grandson in the valley of poverty and enlightened him with knowledge and exposure to the better world of knowing God. It’s such an amazing act that only God’s true servants can do.

Three of my children died of rampant AIDS and left me with young children who seemed a burden to me due to my age and lack of resources to sustain them. As I watched my children die one by one in my hands, I was helpless — with no one to turn to and no one to comfort me — and was in a total dilemma. But finally I saw God’s hand through Compassion’s ministry that sponsored my grandchild Kudra, and my hope was restored.

I can guarantee you that every single day I live I will always say a prayer for Compassion that wiped away my tears through sponsorship.

It was such joy to see Kudra being registered by a Christian organization; it immediately revealed the love of God to me.

Kudra received all the required support needed for a better start of a new life. This included scholastic materials, medical care, physical support and awareness of the true God. Kudra was given a Bible, which he considers as a great gift, and it is always placed in the house for everyone to read, because it was the first Bible in our house.

In reality AIDS folded both my hands after I lost my children who were helping feed me and whom I saw as my future. It only left me with a burden of children always needing from me. Look at me. I cannot do any business or search for a job because I never attended school, not even having any skill that could sustain me.

In the recent earthquake that struck our area, the rented house fell down and we had to request temporary shelter from a neighbor. What really touched my heart is the way God revealed Himself to me once again when Kudra told me that Compassion had come for relief support and was ready to construct and rehabilitate all the demolished houses.

I was speechless by the love of God to a poor Muslim widow supported by Christians through Kudra’s sponsorship. I was really happy to see the saving hand of God through Compassion.

We were given kitchen utensils, blankets, mats, a basin and a promise for house construction for us. God, thank you for restoring my joy, hope and meaningful life.

Dear Compassion, AIDS has left no stone unturned in our community, but we thank Compassion for supporting us in different ways. I have seen Compassion widows of AIDS running business, rearing domestic animals, forming tailoring associations, and creating awareness to the entire community, and all the credit goes to Compassion’s ministry and praise to the most high God.

Furthermore I have seen Muslim mothers celebrating with Christians as a sign of togetherness that Compassion has brought to our community and making a difference in the world.

Thank you Compassion, for taking care of AIDS orphans, they have no one to turn to but only you Compassion — a mother, a father, a sister and a friend.

God bless you,

Miriam

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“Life has meaning when someone touches it at tender age. Someone stood out and shaped my life. I believe in life of fullness. Thank you my sponsor where ever you are.”
- Ruzamba Niyomwungeli

I really do not know what I would be looking like if Compassion had not touched my life when I was at the age of four – sick, starved, almost naked and frustrated with no hope. Thanks God.

God has been on my side since I was a child up to today. I really extend my sincere gratitude to my loved sponsor who stood by my side up to now, and I do promise that I will never disappoint him or God, who has been witnessing my daily life. Thank you my sponsor.

Presently, I am a mature adult, and above all it’s through your hands I grew up to become an adult with a mission to change my family, my community, my country and the world at large. My dear sponsor what can I give you and what can I say if it had not been your incomparable love you extended to me and my family. I believe in the next day, that I always count as a day of grace and new hope.

My sponsor, I do love you and wish you to see God’s grace day by day. My prayers rest in the hands of God. God of mercy bless my sponsor and Compassion. By God’s love I am who I am because of what you did for my life, where my parents were unable to support me in all the aspects of life.

I cried in my neighborhood, but no one listened to me. I called to my neighbors because of hunger, but there was no boon coming to me. I was sick in my bed, but no one could render a service. But not far from God’s hands, a sponsor, a parent, came to me from the far country that is beyond the sea where my eyes could not imagine a thought. What a blessing and love. God I am too special in your eyes. Thank you God.

My sponsor stretched out both his arms to bring me back to the foundation of hope where I stand right now – with all the courage to make a difference which is positive for my life, my family and my community. God of mercy, bless my sponsor and Compassion.

My sponsor, you became the spiritual, economic and intellectual garb I wear now. You became a friend where many people were not able to welcome me.

My sponsor, I believe that God will always be with you. I really want to assure you that what you did in my life has touched thousands of lives through me; for now I am grown up and am making a positive difference in my family, community, and more especially in my church where I was blessed from.

The God of mercy who brought me to your life is the same God who gave me this real time to say that I really thank you. My sponsor, you came into my life when I could not speak write or read, but now I do write and read. What a friend I do have!

My sponsor, you are my friend, and I do credit you most of my blessings. I believe God has heard my prayers for you, as you pray for me.

Blessings to you.

Ruzamba Niyomwungeli

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