“Most of the time, people are far more worried about what someone else will do for them, than what they can do for another. But when you make yourself available to help others, you will be surprised at the blessing you will receive.”

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Intro by Edith Ohaja
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We live in a very busy age and many people are taking hard knocks every day from illness, poverty, emotional disappointments and other kinds of misfortune. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own struggles and duties that we forget to, as a brother recently put it, “spare a thought for the needy in our midst.” By the needy, we mean here everyone who is battling with something, be it material lack or not.
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This article brings us a fresh word and a loving challenge on the foregoing. Read it to reinvigorate your sense of humanity and get a fresh unction to be the extended arms of God to those He places in your path daily.
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It is said that talk is cheap but I thank God for the woman of God who wrote this article. Having experienced the indigent life herself in the past, she now assists the homeless in her community.
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What can I do for you today?
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How often does someone ask you this question? Unfortunately, it is a rare occasion. Most of the time, people are far more worried about what someone else will do for them, than what they can do for another.
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God’s Word clearly guides us into helping others. When we help others, we receive the blessing. Often times though, we go forth in our day focusing on our own challenges, tasks and responsibilities. Our eyes are only seeing what we need to do to strive toward our own goals. When we only seek to focus on ourselves, we miss the blessings that God has in store for us.
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Reaching out to ask someone what you can do for them is a step toward opening up your heart to allow Jesus’ love to flow through you. Many times people will respond with uncertainty. This is because it is not common to be offered such a blessing of caring. Today’s society has little or no concept of the term “unconditional” with the mindset that nothing is free, including what may be called “unconditional love”. Therefore, people feel that if you’re offering anything, then you must want something in return. This is a sad state of mind to live in.
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Show this world that you care by offering one person a helping hand today. Be a blessing. There’s so much we have that we can share with others. It may or may not require a little sacrifice on our part to bring out something for a needy person around us.
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Do not put yourself down by saying, “I have no money, I’m not educated. How can I be of help to anyone?” Not everyone is looking for material help. Not everyone has needs that require high education to solve. You may only be asked to pray, or to offer a listening ear. But in doing so, you are sharing the love of Jesus that God desires to pour out through you.
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“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” – Acts 20:35
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“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When you make yourself available to help others, you will be surprised at the blessing you will receive. There is a joy that wells up from within you that no problem or adverse circumstances you may be facing can dampen. God will also send help your way, for as Galatians 6:7 assures us, “whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap.”
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But most importantly, when our Lord Jesus returns in glory, you will be among His sheep that He will tell:
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“34 … Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36. I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” – Matthew 25:34-36.
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I want to end this with a prayer that is related to the message of one of Amy Grant’s songs, “My Father’s Eyes”:
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Give me, oh Lord, Your kind of eyes to see and respond to the needs of those I meet to the best of my ability. Lord, may I not be uncaring but find the time often to say to someone who really needs it, “What can I do for you today?” I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

ABOUT THE WRITER:
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Cindi Ruiz, also known as “a rambling zealot” is an on-fire, Spirit-filled woman of God. She is a blogger from the state of California in the USA and her blog is uniquely named ramblingsofazealot.wordpress.com. Cindi overcame severe adversity in her personal life and a 40-year drug addiction by the grace and power of the Almighty. She worked previously as a Counselor Intern in the Chemical Dependency/Substance Abuse field with Dual Diagnosis clients. Today, she is devoting all of her time to pursuing the call of the ministry and works closely with the homeless population in her community.
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