TOC Devo: Serving Those Who Live By Faith

We live by faith, not by sight.     

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:7

                Those who visit the Maxwell house will soon discover it is a place full of longing and even some great faith.  The people you meet here are wonderful people, but it doesn’t take long to see they are missing some things you and I may take for granted, and possibly some things absent from our own hearts as well.  A lot of the folks at the Maxwell house are in constant need of food, health care, and transportation.  Unfortunately this only serves to remind of them of their lack of security and community.  It is possible many of us struggle with these same spiritual needs, but if we’re honest we often mask such needs with our material resources.   But when you don’t know who you can ask to give you a ride to the doctor the fact you’re alone in this world comes crashing down on you.  Constant visits to various food banks serve only to remind you of life’s instability.  This is the plight of many of the people at Maxwell House.  It is into this unique set of circumstances our workers and volunteers enter.  We come to bring, and sometimes find, the hope of Christ.  We do not come to fix all the problems (this would be impossible) but we do come to offer the support and services that are available, trusting that we are serving to prepare hearts for Christ.  He alone is the answer to these needs for security and community.

                I’d like to share with you the story of one individual who exemplifies a life of faith in the midst of such insecurity and instability.  David is blind with no income.  For him the act of crossing the street can be a real act of faith.  But David has decided not to be a victim.  Though he does not know where his income is going to come from, David has chosen to never be broke again.  He carries a penny in his pocket every day to remind him that he is not broke, and that there is One who will provide for him.  He is an incredible example of the faith that sustains us all if only we’d trust the One who asks us to walk by faith and not by sight. 

Brandon and Shari Fulmer
Shari works with Action Ministries and serves as the Program Director for Supportive Services at the Maxwell House