“Those who shut their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.” - Proverbs 21:13

I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was in the Philippines and had just spent a mere 20 minutes with the child my wife and I have been sponsoring for several years. I barely had time to connect meaningfully with Monique (not her real name). She was shy and quiet and said little other than ‘thank you’ in broken English. Her mother spoke through an interpreter and told me how Monique’s sister had died of a heart condition at the age of six and her father was unable to be with her or support his family because he suffered from epilepsy.

In Australia, which is the world’s third most affluent country, Monique’s sister would be alive and her father would have had medication that enabled him to support his family. What is God saying? As I reflected on Monique’s needs, her family’s situation and the lack of resources in her community, it became clear that God’s heart is for all families to be helped and all areas of life addressed in a community, not just one child’s needs or at best one family’s needs. The tears were as much about the many thousands who are not helped, as they were about not being able to connect meaningfully with one child who was receiving help.

Reflection: What is God’s ‘still small voice’ saying through people and situations of poverty you have encountered?