Selfless acts

Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Isaiah 58:8-11 NLT

In Acts 20:35, God provided us a paradox in the center of the truth: “You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” This is what Isaiah also reminded the Israelites from our text. We have to be reminded about this principle because there are times that we find it difficult to respond to the need of others. We should not shy away from living out the life God gave us. We have a God who is a cheerful Giver. He provided for us an example to follow and that we should not hesitate to be a part of the solution by correcting the wrongs around us. Once we do this, God will respond by allowing His light shine through us. “Your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon” (Isaiah 58:10b). Are you still living in darkness? Accept God’s solution and allow Him to remove you from darkness. Let Him guide you by “giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength” (v. 11). He wanted you to let the spring of water flow through out of your life. “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart” (John 7:38). He just doesn’t want us to merely survive in life. He wants us to reach our full potential by trusting Him enough to follow Him in experiencing the joy of serving God by serving others.

Blessings,