Thursday, January 15, 2026
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40 CSB
Be Inconvenienced
Sometimes real ministry is not convenient, and we want everything in our lives to be convenient. We can even justify not doing something God is leading us to do by telling ourselves that it is not our responsibility. Nehemiah was greatly inconvenienced. He gave up his very prominent career as a cup bearer for the king. He left the land where he was born, the posh palace where he lived, and went to the messy destruction of the land of his ancestors because God gave him the vision and called him to go.
We may not have the same story or even the same calling as Nehemiah, but opportunities for ministry are discovered in the everyday places of our lives. They are right under our noses, in our churches, in our own homes, in our neighborhoods, in the workplace, on the bus, in the grocery store, etc. They are there and if we have eyes to see, we will see them.
If we pray for eyes to see, how can we turn away? God will put people with needs in our path. It may be physical needs, spiritual needs and/or emotional needs. If we walk on by because we feel like it is not our responsibility, we miss the blessing. God may send someone else to help them, but we will have missed an opportunity for growth that He wanted us to have – because it is our responsibility. If God puts it in our path we need to seriously evaluate how He would want us to respond.
Not only are there opportunities for ministry in our daily lives, but there are disasters (ruins) happening all around us where we can minister to people. Whose responsibility is it? When we see disasters, we can be the people helping to pick up the pieces and clean up. We can help rebuild the ruins. We can help organize and galvanize people to help rebuild like Nehemiah did. We can minister and show God’s love to hurting people in a very tragic time.
Ministry – real ministry – is not glamourous. We won’t find real ministry on a big stage with bright lights. You can reach people that way, but real ministry happens in the ruins. It happens in the streets, in the food banks and homeless shelters, as well as in the everyday grind of our own lives. While we wait for someone to call us to some specific service, it is possible we walk by the very ones God has placed in our lives for our care. Is it your children? Is it your spouse? Is it the man you pass on the corner every day on your way to work? The survivors of a city ravished by a natural disaster – or war?
Jesus’ love was the same for everyone, and His compassion was evident when He encountered the needy. He spent time with the sinners and the outcasts, the poor and the hungry. He gave us an example with His very life of how we are to love and minister to others. His life was our example of abundant generosity.
What or who has God placed in your path? Where is He calling you to minister? What ruins are there to be rebuilt? Do you need to get the spiritual needs in your home and in your heart taken care of so you are ready to minister in whatever way He leads? Pray for vision to see those around you that you can reach out to with a kind word, a casserole, a prayer, or even a bottle of water. He gives us the opportunities and leads us. We will hear and see if we open our hearts to be everyday ministers right where we are.
