Wednesday 08 Jul
Scott Pilgrim reflects on the importance of gratitude and perspective in the midst of challenge.
“Be thankful in all circumstances,” Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:18. These words are easy for me to live out when life is going well, but we all know this can be a challenging mandate when life throws curve balls – be they personal or pandemics.
And yet, as my home city of Melbourne heads back into lockdown and as I have been looking at how to get back home from a visit to NSW, I have been reminded afresh over about the importance of gratitude and perspective.
I still have so many reasons to be thankful. There are so many things to thank God for each day and I’ve found that the more I live with an attitude of thankfulness, the more God’s Spirit enables me to see my circumstances and the world around me with a greater sense of perspective. I need this so that I don’t become self-consumed and lose sight of my dependence on God and the beauty of grace at work in my world each day.
As we continue to grapple with a resurgence of COVID-19 in my home city, I am challenged to see that the inconveniences I face are so small, compared to what many live with each day. For many people around the globe, including in the many of the places our teams serve, the virus has just been thrown on top of the other injustices and inequities they face every day.
Please join me afresh in praying for our teams and the communities where they serve. Pray for opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus in ways that can be understood in the midst of this pandemic and beyond.
Friends, let’s be thankful for the privilege of serving together as partners in the Gospel. Let’s look beyond our own circumstances and be thankful that we trust in a God who is faithful and good.
A key aspect of living with gratitude is celebrating others.
This month we are taking the opportunity to thank God for the wonderful ministry of Morris who has recently concluded as the CEO of our partner NGO in South Asia, an organisation he co-formed 25 years ago.
As we celebrate Morris’ wonderful achievements, I know he would point us to stories of transformation through the work of the NGO - the tens of thousands of lives that are changed as the poorest and most marginalised people of South Asia come together to learn, save and grow their way out of poverty.
Morris's dedication to the B people of South Asia was recognised this year with an Order of Australia Medal.
I had the opportunity recently to spend a few hours with Morris on Zoom to hear more about the Global Interaction story in South Asia. It was an inspiring time and Morris was quick to celebrate so many others; colleagues who responded to God’s invitation to participate in His mission in South Asia.
“I’ve had the privilege of being able to live by my values,” Morris told me. “I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside some wonderful people who shared these values. I’ve been privileged to have been a part of the Global Interaction family, of which the NGO is a child, and see God at work changing lives and communities.”
Join me in thanking God for Morris and his family and praying for him in this time of transition and for Lisa as she commences as our partner NGO’s new CEO.
Thank you for your ongoing partnership with us. We value your prayers, practical and financial support, particularly in these unusual and challenging days.
Let’s stick together and keep asking God to give us hearts of gratitude and eyes that see the world with Christ-like perspective.
Take care.
Serving Jesus Together
Scott Pilgrim
« Back to News