By Chris WittsMonday 6 Jun 2022Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
We all have the potential to make a difference. We’ve got a gift inside of us that can help create a better world. Now, some people don’t realise how much potential they have, do you? I’m sure a lot of people struggle with this question. What difference do I make?
Many people believe they don’t have what it takes to make a difference to the world. And so they believe that only people like Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein or Bill Gates and the like that; these are the people capable to make a difference, but not them.
But every one of us has been put into this world to contribute to make a difference in our own unique way. It need not be anything extraordinary. It just needs to be something you do with the intention of doing good. Every moment of every day, you have the opportunity to make a difference because you decide how to spend your time and what your attitude is going to be.
Happiness and love, they’re the two greatest gifts that you can give to the world. Unfortunately, we’re often indulged in our own gratifications, and we forget there are people in this world who we can make a little happier and feel more loved. As the saying goes, to receive, you must first give, and the more you give, the more you receive.
So let’s remind ourselves we need to spend more time in helping others. It was Mother Teresa who said, You may not be able to feed thousands, but you can help feed one very often. It’s the simple acts that make the biggest difference.
In 1968 while working in a refugee camp on the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar, Dr David Nalin discovered a breakthrough treatment for patients who were suffering from diarrhoea. He realised that giving patients water mixed with the right concentration of salt and sugar would rehydrate them at the same rate at which they lost water. Now this prevented death from dehydration much more cheaply than did the conventional treatment of using an intravenous drip. And since then, this astonishingly simple treatment has been used all over the world. The annual rate of child deaths from diarrhoea has plummeted from five million to 1.3 million, and the researchers estimate that the therapy has saved at least 50 million lives, mostly the lives of Children.
The Bible says very clearly in Ecclesiastes 3:1 – for everything that happens in life, there is a season, a right time for everything under Earth.
We’re born into this world to make a difference in every life. Each is specifically purposed and designed by the creator of the universe. You’re not an accident. You were put on Earth to make a contribution. You weren’t created just to consume resources, to eat, breathe and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. This is one of God’s purposes for your life.
It’s called your ministry or your service. And I’m not just talking about the priests or clergy or ministers. All of us can serve God in the Christian faith by surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ.
A businessman I heard of and his wife took a few days of relaxation at an oceanfront hotel. One night, a violent storm lashed the beach and sent massive breakers thundering against the shore. The wind finally died down, and shortly before daybreak, the man slipped out of bed and took a walk along the beach to see what damage had been done. He saw that the beach was literally covered with starfish that have been thrown ashore, and they were stranded by the great waves. And once the morning sun would begin to burn through the clouds, the starfish would dry out and die. Suddenly he saw another interesting sight. A young boy was picking up the starfish one at a time and flinging them back into the ocean. “Why are you doing that?” The man asked the boy. “Can’t you see that you’ll never be able to get all those starfish back into the water in time? What difference can you make? There are just too many.” The boy sighed. He picked up another starfish and threw it back into the water, he said with a smile to the man. “Well, I sure made a difference to that one.” The businessman stopped and he began picking up the starfish.
Neither you or I may be able to make a big difference to the world, but we can make a huge difference in the little part of the world that surrounds us. When we’re kind to someone and they turn around and are kind to the next person. And regardless of how I help, I will remember the words of Jesus – “whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed. You did it for me.”(Matthew 25:40)
Let’s Pray
Heavenly Father. Today I do know that I can make a difference even if I think I can’t. For Lord, when we do something for you, it’s multiplied so many times We never know, Lord, what you’ve got in store for us as we offer acts of kindness to those that we meet. And I thank you for that possibility in Jesus’ name. Amen.