“Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.”  Philippians 2:2 (NLT)

CHALLENGE

Our vision as a church is to “help people find and follow Jesus.”   Take time this week to encourage those who do tasks that are not often recognized and thank and encourage them in some way.

PREPARATION

  • Praise God for who He is
  • Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing
  • Allow His Spirit to draw you near
  • Listen as He speaks to you

REQUESTS

  • Ask God what your role is in supporting the vision of Westheights.
  • Ask God to open your eyes and notice and bring value to those whose tasks in accomplishing the vision may be less desirable.
  • Ask God to put a vision in your heart for the life He has given you.
  • Perhaps there is a vision or dream that God placed on your heart in the past that you feel is at a stand still. Talk to God about how to move forward with the vision.

THANKSGIVING

  • Thank God for hearing you.
  • Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.

OPTIONAL READINGS

  • John 17:21-26

LIFE STORY

A few years ago in my extended community of faith, a group of my family and friends came together to bring someone’s vision alive.  My dad had a vision/dream to build a log house.  Once the plan was made, we worked together to make it happen.  It was such an exciting three days watching so many people come together to accomplish the vision. Some oversaw and laid out the tasks that needed to be done, other organized the people.  Some were the hands on workers, while others encouraged from the sidelines.  Everyone was involved and supporting the vision in one way or another, from the chili makers to the log layers.

One of the more tedious jobs was to staple insulation tape to each of the logs before they were to be laid.  This was my job.  It may not appeared to be the most exciting or significant job, but what mattered was being apart of what was going on and working together.  Because of the the encouraging comments that were made, I certainly felt that day that I was just as valued as other doing seemingly more important tasks.  We were all apart of making the vision come to pass.

All jobs whether recognized or not are equally significant in bringing a vision to pass.  But when we encourage those who may be doing the behind the scenes jobs, we acknowledge the value of their role and bring it to light.

Contributed by:  Amy Terpstra