We’ve all known the feeling of being overwhelmed by a task.
To look at the hurdle that must be overcome and to wonder if we have the strength to press on. Sometimes these tasks are of a personal nature, while some may affect the lives of others.
In late July 2013, a young professional woman was on her way home from work in north Tokyo. During rush hour traffic, the pace in the train station is breakneck. This is so, because there is an average of 8 million people using the train system each and every day. As the train came into the station, this young woman collected her things and stepped from the train. As she did so, she missed her footing and fell into the gap between the train and the platform, trapping her under the standing train.
For the woman, her situation became dire.
Above her sat 64,000 pounds of weight, 32 tons of metal. Try as she might, she could never hope to lift the train and free herself. She was trapped and needed help. Her situation seemed impossible.
Just then, commuters that were busy, tired, or otherwise engaged put aside their own agendas and their own issues to come to the aid of one in need. Passengers, one after the next, and train staff all lined up alongside the train, and together they began to push. One alone could not have done it. However, as a team, these heroic individuals became one unit, and together they lifted the train enough to pull the women from below. What an amazing story!!
Bright Hope seeks to be the help that comes at just the right time.
To work on a task, as a team, to lift the burden of poverty that has so many trapped and helpless and to put out a hand to pull others to safety.
We all have other things going on. Wouldn’t it be easy for us to press on through the crowd concerned only with our cares and our concerns? But what would happen if we moved through life with a blind eye to those in need? To those trapped and helpless?
For so many people in the developing world, their reality is just as bleak, or perhaps more so, than the story above.
For many of these people, there is not the hope of salvation from poverty. In view of the fact that those around them are just as poor and lack the means needed to break the cycle, to lift the train. We have that chance. That opportunity to be the ones who line up side-by-side and lift this colossal weight together. We get the blessing to help those suffering. We get to feel the joy and fulfillment that comes through teamwork and a job well done.
All throughout Scripture, God shows His interest in the plight of others and instructs His people to take part in helping those in need.
The reality is that breaking the cycle of poverty is something that we can do if we work together.
We need partners in this task and look for those who would come alongside and work with us. There are many ways that you can get involved, even today, and help to lift a burden off the poor. Please consider becoming a regular Ally by joining our new Impact program and making a difference in the life of another. Alone the task can be overwhelming, but together, and with God’s blessing, we can accomplish incredible things.
