“What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
…If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
    I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
…You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
    rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
    restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
    make the community livable again.”

 Isaiah 58: 7 – 12 MSG 

 

For the victims in the path of Super Storm Sandy, our thoughts prayers are with you during this time of extreme despair.  Beyond our prayers, when anyone wonders, “What can I do to help?” the passage above from Isaiah gives us a very specific plan of action:

• Share your food with the hungry
• Invite the homeless into your homes
• Put clothes on the shivering ill-clad
• Be available to your own families
• Start giving yourselves to the down-and-out

We also learn what God promises us if we do these acts of kindness and generosity for others, He will answer our prayers when we call on Him for help, and He will always show us where to go. He also promises these blessings for our obedience to His commands:

• The lights will turn on
• Your lives will turn around at once
• Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness
• He will give you a full life in the emptiest of places
• You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew
• You will rebuild the foundations from out of your past
• You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again

I can’t find a more positive passage in Scripture to give hope and encouragement to those whose lives have been altered forever.  With God’s guidance and the help of others, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, and you will use the rubble of past lives to rebuild anew and make your communities livable again.