Weekly devotion: What motivates you to serve others?
Refuge Egypt
Image credit: David Uttley, Compelling Story, 2021
This week we’re praying for our partner Refuge Egypt, a Cairo-based organisation that serves refugees, asylum seekers and migrants living in Egypt. It provides medical care, family support, and education and skills training. A ministry of the Anglican Diocese of Egypt, Refuge Egypt primarily works with African refugees through a holistic approach that cares for the whole person: physically, spiritually, socially and emotionally.
Embrace supports Refuge Egypt clinics to provide quality medical care to marginalised refugees who are excluded by the national health system. We also fund assistance for refugees – for example, including emergency support, employment training and psychological care. The majority of people who receive this support are female heads of households, those with disabilities or chronic illness, and unaccompanied minors.
The staff at Refuge Egypt work tirelessly to help refugees build sustainable lives in Cairo for themselves and their families. They help people to meet the very real present needs and provide resources and encouragement for future stability.
Bible reading
‘Be merciful to me, my God,
for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
all day long they press their attack.
My adversaries pursue me all day long;
in their pride many are attacking me.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?’
Read the full Psalm: Psalm 56
Thought
The psalmist expresses deep-seated grief, fear and anger in this psalm – and yet by the end he has committed his trust to God and is full of gratitude for the life God has given him. It is a beautiful reminder that we are free to bring our whole selves before God and express all that is on our hearts.
In a similar way, Refuge Egypt care about the whole selves of the people they support. Motivated by Jesus’ compassion and concern for those in need, they seek to serve selflessly and go the extra mile for one of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in Egypt.
Ask yourself: How can a personal assurance of God’s love and care in your own life motivate you to serve others?
Prayer
Loving God,
We thank you for this project and we pray for the refugees it serves. We are deeply saddened by the trauma that so many have experienced but we thank you that every one of them is known by you and precious to you. We pray that you would provide for their every need. We pray that they would find safety and security in Egypt – a place where they can thrive.
We pray for the staff at Refuge Egypt – that they would be equipped to serve, and they would bring your light and your love to people living on the margins.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
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