Making a Difference

Recently I watched, enthralled and humbled by the sheer guts and bravery of British NHS volunteer doctors and nurses (members of the Territorial Army) who go each week as Medical Response Teams to war-torn areas of the world. They feel obliged to make a difference, so they leave their families and are commissioned to go on front-line duties to tend to people with horrific injuries. They perform all kinds of operations, ranging from minor surgery to amputations. They don’t think of their own rights or comforts, but selflessly think of those who need their help.

Risking all on the front-line, they immediately become enemy targets as they enter enemy airspace on their way to their duties. Once there they also discover that life on the front-line is full of hidden dangers, for they’re not only there as Medics. They have to take their turn on front-line duty.

At the request of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we are also called and commissioned to leave ‘father and mother, brother and sister’ to be about our Heavenly Father’s business. At the tender age of 11 Jesus was already aware of this when His concerned parents thought they had lost Him in Jerusalem. Like Gideon’s men who lapped the water with one hand but were alert with weapons in the other so that they weren’t taken by surprise by the enemy, we also find that we need to be on our guard, because we’re on the enemy’s radar screen.

The above scripture reminds us that as soldiers we are to please our Lord Jesus, our commanding officer, and be focussed on the business at hand. We’re warned that the enemy is prowling, going about as a roaring lion to devour, but we are not to fear. For dressed in the amour the Lord has given us, and using the weapons of warfare He has provided, while listening to His words directing us, we will prevail. The enemy won’t be able to derail us. We’re under God’s covering and all we have to do is learn to follow His instructions. Let’s not be distracted or caught ‘off guard’ for we will be rewarded if we’re courageous and keep going (Revelation 22:12). Although it might not seem like it sometimes, you are making a difference!

Prayer: Dear Lord, would You help us to please You by going about our Heavenly Father’s business and tending to the needs of the hurting and the broken, whilst being alert to the wiles and tactics of the enemy. Thank You for the victory You’ve given us in Jesus’ Name. Amen.