During the last two years of her life, my wife did not use her health struggles as an excuse to not make her faith in Christ Jesus visible to others. She knew that her medical condition could be terminal (as it eventually was), and she still acted out her faith.
Several years later as I struggled with my own painful physical disability, I wanted to know how I could physically participate in the kingdom of God. During a meeting with one of my pastors, he and I prayed that God would reveal to me a work that I could do for His glory.
One must be careful about what one asks God for because God might actually give it. God answered the prayer that the pastor and I prayed. As a result, I ended up sweating for Jesus.
I was accustomed to literally sweating in order to earn a pay check. I did plenty of that prior to becoming physically disabled. However, I hadn’t literally sweated in a mission field that God had called me to. That changed when I became a volunteer with Dividing Bread Ministry in Collinsville, Oklahoma.
The ministry runs a thrift store for the purpose of raising funds for a community food pantry. The other volunteers didn’t have to do much work in Oklahoma’s hot and humid weather. They could stay indoors. I, however, had tasks that required constant exposure to Oklahoma’s heat and humidity. I routinely sweated so much that I looked as if I had taken a shower with my clothes on.
Ironically, the heat and humidity actually aided me. My constant physical pain is alleviated by moist heat. So, sweating for Jesus became a physical blessing to me.
When talking about my volunteer work at Dividing Bread Ministry, I usually say that I am volunteering on behalf of my church (Discovery Church), which is true. Actually, there is more than that to my volunteer work.
In one of his sermons, Reverend Chris Henkaline talks about making one’s faith in Jesus visible to others. Upon hearing that sermon, I realized what my sweat revealed to others. It revealed that, despite my physical pain, I was willing to serve at Dividing Bread Ministry because my faith in Jesus is real.
Other believers in Messiah Jesus may not have to literally sweat in order to make their faith visible to the public, but it wouldn’t hurt if they did. Sometimes, God is glorified through perspiration.