Dust on the scale

 

Dear coworkers,

Yesterday over lunch with our US board member Gerry, I referred to the “huge amount” which we’ve committed to pay at year-end, in support of Israeli hospitals for the heart surgeries in 2022 for 80+ children from Iraq, Syria and the Gaza Strip.

After a second’s thought I felt convicted to add: “But for the Lord that’s just dust on the scale.”

If you go to our donation page, and click on “2022 year-end commitments,” you’ll see the up-to-the-moment amount needed. As I’m writing it stands at $684,566.

To us it indeed looks huge. Over 28 years we’ve never needed this much before at year’s end. But year after year we’ve seen our Father in heaven enable us to keep faith with our partner hospitals, despite our great mistakes and unbelief.

So Paul’s words to the Colossians ring true to me as 2022 draws to an end: Continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the good news you heard.

I’m grateful for the friends old and new who are praying, giving and believing together with us. We are not alone.

God willing I’ll update you again tomorrow, and then give a final tally in the Sunday letter of January 1.

Jonathan for Shevet Achim

“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity…for there the LORD commands the blessing, even life forevermore” (Psalm 133).

Photo from timeslive.co.za