1. Natural disasters.

2. For Christ’s sake.

3. Disability.

4. Accident.

5. Sickness.

6. War.

Many people are suffering today, not because they are lazy, but because of natural disasters. Many have lost their beautiful homes and precious properties by fire, earthquake, storm, flood, and the like.

Many are homeless or in prison today for Christ’s sake. Because they have chosen to obey God rather than man, their community or government has forced them out of their homes.

There are many people who cannot make ends meet because of disability, especially the blind, the lame, and the like.

An accident is something which happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, especially causing damage or injury. Because of accidents, millions are invalids today. As a result, they are suffering.

Many are suffering from different kinds of sicknesses, which have caused them a lot of suffering. The word of God mentions a woman who, because of sickness, sold all her possessions. “A certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment” (Mark 5:25-27).

Many are displaced, millions are left homeless, and properties are destroyed because of war. No human tongue can tell the kind of suffering, pain, distress, and agony people are in today because of war. How many people starve to death! How many are disabled and how many legs and arms are amputated, all because of war.

We surely cannot boast that the reason we are being spared such pains is due to any personal effort on our part.

However, we are what we are today by the merciful grace of God. No human being who visits the area where I live can throw away a grain of rice, or a piece of cloth.

Therefore, we as people of God, instead of trying to find out whose sin has brought suffering in people’s lives, we should declare with Jesus “that the works of God should be made manifest” in them. Instead of trying to find out his or her nationality, we can say with our Lord Jesus “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Our Lord Jesus made it clear that whenever we do good to others, we have done it unto Him. “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:34-40).

The pen of Inspiration writes, “Poverty and distress in families will come to our knowledge, and afflicted and suffering ones will have to be relieved. We know very little of the human suffering that exists everywhere about us, but as we have opportunity we should be ready to render immediate assistance to those who are under a severe pressure.”2

“The poor are God’s heritage. Christ has given His life for them. He calls upon those whom He has appointed to act as His stewards, to give liberally of the means entrusted to them to relieve the poor and to support His work in the earth. The Lord is rich in resources. He has appointed men to act as His treasurers in this world. That which He has given them they are to use in His service.”3

“As you open your door to Christ’s needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there.”4

“I have been instructed, to refer our people to the fifty-eight chapter of Isaiah. Read this chapter carefully and understand the kind of ministry that will bring life into the churches. The work of the gospel is to be carried by means of our liberality as well as by our labors. When you meet suffering souls who need help, give it to them. When you find those who are hungry, feed them. In doing this you will be working in lines of Christ’s ministry. The Master’s holy work was a benevolent work. Let our people everywhere be encouraged to have a part in it.”5

The word of God declares, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou will not deliver him unto the will of his enemies” (Psalm 41:1, 2).

“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17).

“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard” (Proverbs 21:13).

“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor” (Proverbs 22:9).

Many professed believers consider only their families, friends, and their church members. And they don’t have anything to do with anyone who is not their associate. Our Lord Jesus knew this would exist in our days, and He said “For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:32-36).

“There are some who manifest great affection for their relatives, for their friends and favorites, who yet fail to be kind and considerate to those who need tender sympathy, who need kindness and love.

“With earnest hearts, let us inquire, Who is my neighbor? Our neighbors are not merely our associates and special friends, they are not simply those who belong to our church, or who think as we do. Our neighbors are the whole human family. We are to do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”6

“There are many who ask, as the did the lawyer, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ The answer comes down to us in the circumstances that happened near Jericho, when the priest and the Levite passed by on the other side, and left the poor, bruised, and wounded stranger to be taken care of by the good Samaritan. Everyone who is in suffering need is our neighbor. Every straying son and daughter of Adam, who has been ensnared by the enemy of souls, and bound in the slavery of wrong habits that blight the God-given manhood or womanhood, is my neighbor.”7

“The suffering and destitute of all classes are our neighbors; and when their wants are brought to our knowledge, it is our duty to relieve them as far as possible. A principle is brought out in this parable that it would be well for the followers of Christ to adopt. First meet the temporal necessities of the needy and relieve their physical wants and sufferings, and you will then find an open avenue to the heart, where you may plant the good seed of virtue and religion.”8

“As you gathered in your harvest, storing barns and granary for your own comfort, did you return to God a faithful tithe? Have you presented to Him your gifts and offerings, that His cause may not suffer? Have you looked after the fatherless and the widow? This is a branch of home missionary work that should by no means be neglected.

“Are there not around you poor and suffering ones who need warmer clothing, better food, and, above everything else, that which will be most highly prized - sympathy and love? What have you done for the widows, the distressed, who call upon you to aid them in educating their children or grandchildren? How have you treated these cases? Have you tried to help the orphans? When anxious, soul-burdened parents or grandparents have asked you, and even begged you, to consider their case, have you turned them away with unfeeling, unsympathetic refusals? If so, may the Lord pity your future; for ‘with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again’ (Matthew 7:2).”9

“I saw that it is in the providence of God that widows and orphans, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and persons afflicted in a variety of ways have been placed in close Christian relationship to His church; it is to prove His people and develop their true character. Angels of God are watching to see how we treat these persons who need our sympathy, love, and disinterested benevolence.”10

“Money has great value, because it can do great good. In the hands of God’s children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked. It is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of help to the sick. But money is of no more value than sand, only as it is put to use in providing for the necessities of life, in blessing others, and advancing the cause of Christ.”11

The true secret of success is actually in giving. That is why our Lord Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

No one who knows what giving is will wait until he or she is asked to do this. Giving has changed the life of many. Giving is like a seed sown in the ground, which inevitably must bring back abundantly in the harvest.

If we give, we shall receive. This is what the word of God says.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

In 1 Kings 17:10-16 we read the experience of Elijah when he “went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shalt not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”

Here was a woman who was about to starve to death with her son after eating their last meal. Instead, the Lord multiplied their food and they ate for three and half more years of drought and famine.

Why did the Lord multiply their food? It was not by magic. It was not a special favor. God’s blessings are conditional. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.”

The secret of receiving is in giving. Many people died in Israel during that period of three and half years of drought and famine, but the widow of Zarephath and her house lived. All because she knew that the secret of receiving things from the Lord is in giving. “Be not deceived; . . . for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Likewise, “Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. And he said, what then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life” (2 Kings 4:8-17).

Here was a woman who had no child, nor even any hope of one, but because of her care for the prophet, the Lord rewarded her with the fruit of the womb. And as we can see in this passage above, the Lord was ready to give to her anything she would have asked.

The word of God says, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest . . . shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

During the farming season, anyone who refuses to plant the few kernels of corn at hand, for fear of losing them, will suffer hunger. However, anyone who plants will have abundance in the harvest, because the Lord has designed that when we sow (give), we shall harvest (receive). As a matter of fact, the reason why many suffer lack is that they refuse to sow (give).

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty” (Proverbs 11:24). There are people who never fail to pray for the poor and destitute. They pray that God should send food, clothes, and the like, but they forget that God’s people on earth are His instrumentalities.

The apostle James writes, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; nothwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:14-17).

One brother is known for praying every morning for the poor. But before he ends his prayers, he adds, “Lord, send me somebody whom I can help today.” As a result, on his way to work, where people walk for miles as they are unable to afford the bus fare, he always finds someone who waves for a lift. And as he gives them a ride, he finds an open avenue to the heart where he plants the good seed of truth.

Yes, the Lord calls upon us to help and relieve suffering humanity. Are we to do it carelessly and thoughtlessly? Oh no!

“In regard to the poor - objects of charity . . . the stewards of God have no duty in the case of those who will persist in using tobacco, coffee, and tea. Some of the poor are apt to place all the straight testimony upon the shoulders of the men of property, but there is something for them to do, a work that they must engage in. They must deny appetite. Here they can make a sacrifice. God calls upon them to do it. And after they leave off these hurtful things, if they get into straitened circumstances while exerting themselves to do the best they can, it will be a privilege for their able brethren to help them out of difficulty.”12

Our Lord Jesus in unmistakable words told us that anyone who is in the position of relieving suffering humanity but refuses to do so, cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:41-46).

Having all these precious promises brethren and sisters, “let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10).

Let us promise the Lord that from today we will do everything possible to relieve the sufferings of humanity. Even if it means giving our last food to the hungry, great shall be our reward. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).