That’s the question I heard over and over again during the mission trips The Lion Within Us coordinated following Hurricane Helene.
The storm had devastated communities throughout the mountains of North Carolina and East Tennessee. Homes were destroyed, roads washed away, and entire families were left trying to piece together what remained of their lives.
I remember arriving for the first time, eager to get our team into the field and begin serving. We came equipped primarily with chainsaws and the willingness to work, knowing the needs would be significant. On our first day, we traveled into one of the hardest-hit areas. As I stood there looking across the landscape, I snapped the picture above.
I’ll never forget that moment.
For the first time, I truly grasped the magnitude of what these communities had endured. In many cases, there was simply nothing we could do to restore what had been lost. It looked like a war zone. Homes were gone. Property lines had disappeared. The only path forward was clearing debris and beginning again.
Yet amid all the devastation, one thing stood out to me: the resilience of the people.
Everyone had a story. Everyone had suffered loss. Yet there was a strength in them that is difficult to explain. They were hurting, but they were not defeated. They were down, but they were not out.
One woman in particular left a lasting impression on me.
She was in her eighties and lived alone. Her property was covered with fallen trees and debris. Because emergency crews were overwhelmed with larger priorities, help had never reached her. It became immediately clear that she was one of the reasons God had sent us there.
Our team got to work.
As we surveyed the property, I noticed several tree limbs that appeared to have been partially cut. Curious, I asked her about them. She quietly explained that she had been cutting them herself. With a hand saw!
Every morning before the heat became too much, she would walk outside, work as long as she could, and then return inside to rest. I was speechless.
At that moment, our team resolved to do everything we could to bless her. Chainsaws roared to life. Limbs were cut. Debris was moved. Hour after hour, the team worked until much of the destruction had been cleared away. As the day came to an end, I looked over and saw joy on her face for the first time. Before leaving, I asked if she needed anything else—food, water, clothing, supplies. Her head dropped.
I knew the answer before she spoke.
That evening, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t finished. The next morning, our team pooled resources together. We filled her refrigerator, delivered household supplies, brought clothing, and provided whatever assistance we could. She didn’t know what to say and our message to her was simple: Jesus loves you.
Serving others never gets old.
In Acts 20:35, Paul reminds us of the words of Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
I have found that to be true every single time.
Those days in the mountains were some of the hardest working days of our lives, yet they were also some of the most fulfilling. The physical exhaustion was real, but so was the joy. What surprised me most, however, was how often people would stop and ask us a simple question:
“Can we pray for you?”
Think about that for a moment.
These were individuals who had lost homes, possessions, vehicles, and in some cases everything they owned. Yet they wanted to pray for us. One day I finally asked a woman why she felt compelled to do that. I told her we would much rather pray for her.
Her response humbled me.
“Sir,” she said, “you are the ones who went out of your way to help us in our time of need. You are already an answer to our prayers.” Then she and others would lay hands on us and pray for our safety, our families, our health, and our ministry.
And in those moments, I believe I experienced firsthand what Jesus meant when He said it is more blessed to give than to receive.
The blessing of serving cannot be outsourced. While service is often inconvenient, sacrificial, and sometimes exhausting, it is also one of the greatest ways we reflect the heart of Christ. When we take our eyes off ourselves and begin looking for ways to serve others, God often does something unexpected—He changes us in the process.
What better way to point people toward Jesus than to see a need and meet it?
I’d love to hear from you. How has God used you to serve others recently? And what opportunities might He be placing in front of you right now to be His hands and feet?