Ministry Paralysis (?)

Seeing a great need and meeting it - that's what we call ministry.  God led the way when He saw us and met us.

Today marks the anniversary of getting on an airplane at o-dark-thirty for Chicago, then Shanghai, then Beijing to adopt our little girl.  We have been asked at multiple times and in multiple ways why we decided to adopt and adopt from China.  The "why adopt" question is a longer answer.  The "why China" is a shorter one.

China has millions of orphans due to their one-child policy.  We looked at the world, realized we couldn't do it all but could do something (the Starfish Principle).  China seemed to be the biggest place of need and so that's where we went.

Ministry to neighborhoods, families, orphans, churches, Haiti, homeless people, and any and every other group you could possibly imagine is often like that.  Some get paralyzed by the need.  I've felt that way before.  But the Enemy wins if we stay paralyzed.  Getting engaged in ministry in that moment is about picking a place where you sense greatest need and going for it.  God supplies opportunities, resources, spiritual and physical strength, perspective, ideas, wisdom, and power.  Stepping out in faith for ministry's sake, we find that there's grace for ministry's sake too.

God's already modeled this for us.  He looked at us in our great need, separated from Him and without hope in the world.  He was not paralyzed by our sin and rebellion, but stepped in, through Jesus, to rescue us and reconcile us by His mercy.  Amen.

Now we carry that same ministry of reconciliation to the world around us.  Don't be paralyzed.  Take a step in a direction and see what God does.