WORTH IT ALL
Clarissa Hernandez
Today’s Scripture:
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1 Peter 1:24-25, ESV
Theme: We serve globally (even though it stretches us to do so) because our comfort is temporary, but God’s message is eternal.
ENDURING WORD
Isaiah originally spoke these words of hope to the people of God who were living in exile and who were spiritually empty. About 700 years later, Peter quoted Isaiah to encourage believers in the early church as they faced their own season of suffering.
We live in a world much like that of the exiled Jews and early Christians—a world where comfort, possessions, accolades, and financial security are often valued more highly than the One who never passes away. Grass and flowers have their purpose, but they will fade. What truly endures is the Word—Jesus, our living hope.
DISCOMFORT
When I finally responded to a persistent nudge to join a global trip with The Cove, I knew almost nothing about where I was going, what I would be doing, or who I would be traveling with. I felt uncomfortable asking people for financial support, unsure how I would survive the jet lag, dreading the 16-hour flight, and nervous about spending every waking moment with a group of people I barely knew. Honestly, it was probably only the prayers of others that propelled me to the airport on departure day.
Within 48 hours of arriving in South Africa, I found myself standing nervously in front of a group of teenagers who had just received their very first Bibles. My task was to explain what this book was all about and give them a crash course in how to read it.
At that moment, all the things I had previously worried about seemed to blow away as I watched those students eagerly flipping through the pages of God’s living Word. Sometimes, the things we think are important, the things that we dwell on, simply do not matter when weighed against the opportunity to share the Gospel.
WHAT REMAINS
A few months before teaching that “Bible 101” course in South Africa, my husband and I sponsored our first child through The Cove Child Sponsorship program. For years, we ignored the tug on our hearts because committing to a child in a faraway country for an unknown length of time felt overwhelming. We had our own children, retirement planning, vacations, and other financial responsibilities. We tithed faithfully and gave additional offerings, so we felt we had already fulfilled our responsibility to give.
But God changed something in our hearts and led us to Charmaine. For about $40 a month, we help provide groceries for her and her family, after-school tutoring, and a care worker who ensures she is healthy and attending both school and church. But beyond those practical benefits, the program also ensures she hears God’s Word every week. Our letters and photos remind her that she is loved, known, and prayed for by our family.
The money we give toward sponsoring her, and the other children we have since added to our family, could certainly be spent on many other useful and worthy things. But honestly, I cannot think of anything $40 could buy that would make a greater eternal and present-day impact.
Make It Personal: What makes you uncomfortable about sponsoring a child or serving on a global mission trip? Are those discomforts something you would be willing to live with to help bring the Gospel to another part of the world? If you already sponsor a child, would you commit to sending photos and writing them a letter a few times a year to encourage them and remind them of your care and the hope we have in Christ? What temporary luxuries could you forego in order to sponsor a child, serve on a global trip, or make a one-time gift to global missions?
Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving me Your enduring Word to instruct and encourage me. Show me how You want to use me to bring the Gospel to others. Lead me to people who can answer my questions and address my concerns about serving globally. Multiply every gift I bring to You to further your kingdom. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
Read: Isaiah 40:3-9, 1 Peter 1:13–25
Weekly Memory Verse: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” Romans 10:14-15, ESV