More From Dean T. Skoglund

May 4, 2020 by Dean T. Skoglund (Minnesota, USA)

Read: Matthew 25:31-40

Jesus said, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” — Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

As a virus sweeps through our communities, the shortages of staff, equipment, and vaccines can mean pain, fear, and death. The needs are great in the medical field.

After attending patients, a nurse remarked: “Yes; I am scared! I worked long and hard trying to do everything I could, yet it was not enough. I took a shower and just wept because I could give no more.” For all the chaos and confusion, we have the example of Jesus going to Gethsemane prior to the crucifixion (see Matt. 26:36-46). He leads by example in a personal struggle much like many in our society.

Jesus went to pray in the crucial period of his life. In Matthew 26, we see three times that he enters prayer with his heavenly father. Jesus knew to consult the only one who could help with power and wisdom. Jesus had faith to believe that his father would bring solace in his time of need, and Jesus relied on him in prayer.

Jesus became troubled and saddened by the situation in which he found himself. He became emotional in prayer with great sweat coming because of his agony. Being exposed to basic needs brings empathy to us, and we cry for ways to help. We become troubled about food, toilet paper, or medical supplies. But God leads us through prayer to meet needs through our faith. Faith grows into doing what we can: sending money, sewing face masks, or other small ways to help.

Jesus determined in his last hours to commit anew to the principle that brought him here. Three times in prayer, Jesus foregoes his will to follow his father’s will. In Matthew 26:39, he prayed: My Father... not as I will, but as you will. And again in verse 42: My Father... may your will be done.My Father… may Your will be done. God’s will was paramount. 

We can pray first thing every morning that God will give us eyes to see and ears to hear how we can help those in need. After prayer, God reveals needs and supplies resources to meet those needs. Prayer opens the door to our senses. Many times the surrounding needs can bring us to tears when we think of what people can experience, and it grieves us. We desire not to make our own lives better or endeavor to be the center of attention, but to do God’s will.

Jesus told his disciples to stay awake, keep alert, and pay attention. His concern was for the disciples to stay engaged in the moment. We are to stay alert and be aware of situations around us where there are needs so that we don’t miss an opportunity to serve. In God’s name, we meet needs of the least of those among us. I was able to meet someone’s need when I left a restaurant with leftovers and found a man on the sidewalk who was hungry. This man had a need, I had food. God knows our needs and supplies for our needs. With infinite purpose, God intersects needs with people gifted to fulfill them. The will of the father can be our focus.


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