We all know what is happening next week. Missions week. Most of us know what to expect; where we will go, what we will do. However, as a new student, I find it interesting to be preparing for a week of mission work mid-school year. My old school did not participate in anything like this. And yet, it is exciting and fresh. How often do we get the opportunity to serve the Lord, with our peers, in the middle of the school year? This week, as I prepare for local missions, I was thinking about how to prepare my heart to serve and love others well.

Isaiah 58:10-11 says “if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

While these verses are full of promise and hope and happiness, it is important to look and the commandment within them. The first part of verse 10 says “if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted.” This verse does not say to half-heartedly serve others in order to get the job done. It does not say to satisfy the desires of the afflicted to a certain extent. Rather, it commands us to sacrifice our pride and our living conditions and whatever may be holding us back in order to serve others better.

This week, I hope we remember to put down our pride and the conditions we might be used to, or anything that holds back. Let us remember that serving others is serving the Lord, and let us serve and share the gospel joyfully in order to further the Kingdom. Finally, let us be thankful for the opportunity we have to share the gospel and do mission work through our schools and with our peers, understanding this opportunity is not given to everyone.