“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
— Isaiah 58:10
Dorcas liked to sew, but she didn’t have a fancy sewing machine with a buttonholer or a sleeve attachment. She sewed by hand in her home in Joppa, the main seaport of Judea, about thirty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem.
Dorcas was a disciple and belonged to one of the first Christian congregations. And one of her favorite ways to serve Jesus was to serve the poor in her community. The Bible says Dorcas always did good and helped the poor. Not just on Sundays or at Christmas time or when her church or the post office had a food drive. Sewing clothes for the needy was one way Dorcas helped.
When Dorcas became ill and died, many widows and others mourned her death. They washed her body and placed it in an upstairs room in her house along the Mediterranean Sea.
Two men from Dorcas’ hometown went over to Lydda where the apostle Peter was preaching. They told Peter to come to Joppa at once. When Peter arrived at Dorcas’ house, they took him upstairs to her room. The crying widows surrounded Peter, showing him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made for the poor.
Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt on the floor and prayed. Then he said, “Tabitha, get up.”
Dorcas, whose name translated to Tabitha in Aramaic, opened her eyes. She saw Peter and sat up. She’d been dead, and now she was alive again.
Peter held Dorcas’ hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and widows in to see Dorcas alive again. The miracle became known all over Joppa and many people believed in the Lord.
God gave Dorcas more time on earth to praise his name. More time to use her heart and her hands to serve God and the poor in her community.
Like Dorcas, you can allow God to use your gifts, abilities, and talents to serve the poor and needy in the world. You can share your time and talent to let them know God loves them and cares about them. How will you show God’s love?
More to Explore: Acts 9:36 – 43
Girl Talk: What can you do to serve the poor in your community?
God Talk: “Lord, you see the needs of all people all around the world. Your heart breaks for them. Please show me the things that break your heart and give me a heart to serve the needy. Amen.”
From Real Girls of the Bible by Mona Hodgson