February 18: Insight Post by Rusty Coram
Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram
I will never forget Dave Hardy. Dave was a friend I met in grad school whose relationship with God deeply inspired me. He started a church in Fort Worth, Texas, to reach undocumented Mexican and El Salvadoran men who had come to the United States (US) to earn money to send home to their families. I met many of them, and the common situation for them was coming to the US to hire on as manual laborers. The ones I knew were hard workers, desperate to help their families back home, where there was little or no work. Many businesses in the Dallas/Fort Worth area would bring these “illegal workers” on and pay them cash, at the time $40 for a 10-12 hour day. These employers were getting good labor at a fraction of the cost of legal hires because there was no withholding for Social Security, taxes, etc. Dave cared about these hard-working men and shared Jesus with them, knowing they mattered to God.
Ooops, I got a bit off track! What I most remember Dave for is teaching me to pray anytime, anywhere. One day, we were talking as we walked to a restaurant. Something came up in our conversation, and I probably said something about how we should pray about that. Immediately, while walking down the sidewalk, Dave began praying about the matter. I was amazed. Up to that point, I thought you needed to be in a quiet, secluded place, seated or kneeling to pray. Dave showed me that God is aware and available everywhere I am.
When I read some of our verses for this week, Dave’s example came back to me, and I am so grateful!
“16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–17 (NLT)
“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” Romans 12:12 (NLT)
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org