“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11
Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” Not sure if our present government is moving in the direction of which Jefferson spoke but Haiti gained its independence from France in January 1804 and their country has seemingly been under bad governments ever since. Jefferson was alive when the battles for freedom where being waged in Haiti. Move the calendar ahead two centuries and look at the attached photo of the kitchen at the Lutheran school at Rue Frere. The kitchen that serves food for children attending Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE does not even remotely resemble this kitchen. How could one country that is separated by a short flight be so different than our country?
Whenever I visit schools in North America and talk about Trinity/HOPE programs I always make it a point to show photos of kitchens at schools in Haiti to the cooks here. They typically shake their heads in disbelief, and ask if they can have a photo to remind them of how blessed they are. The cooks in Haiti preparing the meal and the students who receive the rice and beans are a living example of what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians; being content in any and every situation. Bad government, we have Jesus. One meal a day; we have Jesus. Dirt floor, no electricity, hot and humid, no running water; we have Jesus. We have Jesus! Frances Havergal wrote the words for ‘I am trusting thee Lord Jesus’ in 1874 and they seem like an appropriate way to close this message today.
“I am trusting Thee, Lord, Jesus, trusting only Thee; trusting Thee for full salvation, great and free. I am trusting Thee for pardon; at Thy feet I bow; for Thy grace and tender mercy, trusting now. I am trusting Thee for cleansing in the crimson flood; trusting Thee to make me holy by Thy blood. I am trusting Thee to guide me; Thou alone shalt lead; every day and hour supplying all my need. I am trusting Thee for power, Thine can never fail; words which Thou Thyself shalt give me must prevail. I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus; never let me fall; I am trusting Thee forever, and for all.”
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay