Giving Tuesday: Give God’s Comfort to Hurting People Today!
Hurting people all around us are in desperate need of God’s comfort. That’s why I’m letting you know about Giving Tuesday — a global day of giving that occurs each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year Giving Tuesday is November 29th.
Giving Tuesday is the perfect opportunity for us to share God’s comfort with hurting people!
Hurting people around the world are in desperate need of God’s comfort.
They’re in desperate need of God’s life-changing Word to impart help and hope in the midst of their suffering.
Trials and hardships are everywhere. None of us has escaped unscathed. We need look no further than the daily news — or our daily lives — for evidence of this fact.
Millions of People Are Battling Chronic Illness
The Centers for Disease Control in the United States found that one in five adults who had Covid-19 still has symptoms. This chronic illness is called Long Covid. It is estimated that four million Americans are likely out of work due to Long Covid illness.
Imagine the number of people whose lives came to an abrupt halt — who are reeling from the trauma of a broken body and the sudden absence of income…
These poor people feel like they woke up one morning in someone else’s body. They’re in shock, grieving the life they used to have, the person they used to be. What’s worse, they cannot see how ends will ever meet.
And this is just those suffering from Long Covid. Consider the increased prevalence of Lyme Disease. When I was diagnosed over 25 years ago, the CDC estimated there were a little more than 16,000 cases a year (the CDC admitted its estimates were low, by as much as a factor of ten). From 2007 to 2021, there was a 357% increase in Lyme Disease cases in the United States. According to the CDC, there are now 476,000 people diagnosed and treated for Lyme Disease annually. The incidence of Lyme in the U.S. is six times the annual incidence of HIV and about one and a half times the incidence of breast cancer.
Add multiple sclerosis … cancer … ALS … autoimmune diseases … And the number of people in the world battling chronic illness is mind-blowing.
As you know, the pandemic resulted in decreases and delays in identifying new cancers and delivering treatment. (Screenings for breast cancer were down 85% in April of 2020. Colon cancer screenings were down 75% and prostate screenings were down 74%.) This left people facing more advanced stages of cancer than they would have apart from the pandemic.
Just enduring the symptoms of an illness can be enough to drive someone to despair — certainly to the end of their endurance. (Some people with Long Covid have tragically committed suicide.)
But when the illness also means an inability to work, the absence of income in addition to bodily suffering causes an eclipse of hope… and for some, an eclipse of faith. They cannot bring themselves to expect anything good from God.
This is where you come in! With your gift to Shades of Grace, you’re pushing the darkness aside, exposing God’s loving heart and powerful hand at work in their circumstances.
Suicides, Addiction and Overdose Deaths Increased During the Pandemic
Suicide rates in the U.S. rose 4% in 2021 over the previous year. Among 15- to 24-year-olds, suicides increased 8%.
America is experiencing an escalating national mental health crisis worsened by the pandemic.
The pandemic also led to an increased number of people abusing drugs and dying from overdoses.
There were more than 99,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in the first year of the pandemic — an increase of nearly 30% from the year before.
Millions of People Are Reeling From Pandemic Trauma
No one escaped the pandemic without suffering loss of some kind. The world changed for each one of us. We lost a precious loved one, lost our job, lost our business, lost our career trajectory, lost our personal health, or watched helplessly as our kids lost years of development and education.
We lost community and engagement with others. We lost the ability to be lifted by others’ countenance. We lost the illusion that we have some semblance of control over our world. We suffered collective and individual trauma.
Grief must be processed, not denied. Millions of people around the world need the loving embrace of Christ as they process their post-pandemic grief. They need the assurance, the foundation, the comfort of God’s word for their wounded soul.
Jesus Promised Hope for the Hurting
Despite all this distress, Jesus promised us hope:
“In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Jesus came that we might have abundant life—no matter the circumstance. Through Him we are more than conquerors in all things. Because of God’s love and grace, we don’t have to be overcome by our troubles.
In this post-pandemic world, now—more than ever—hurting men and women need to be encouraged with God’s Word and His promise to carry them through any affliction. They need someone to share God’s comfort with them.
That’s why I want to personally invite you to join me on this mission of sharing God’s comfort.
Shades of Grace is a faith-based organization supported by friends like you who want to give people hope in the midst of their suffering. We are grateful for those who support this work through generous gifts, both large and small. All donations are secure and your information will not be shared with other parties.
When you give to Shades of Grace, you are sharing God’s comfort with lost and hurting people who need Christ. Through your support, you are bringing the life-changing Word of God to someone who desperately needs a touch from the Lord.
Would you pray about what donation God would have you give today?
Your gift allows us to reach men and women in the midst of their tests and trials — and point them to Christ!
Through your gift, you’re reaching a women on the brink of suicide and giving her hope! You’re helping a man facing loss to see his trials as an invitation to know God more fully.
You’re showing hurting people how to truly experience the life-giving power of God’s Word!
I remember when I was bedridden and spent years confined to the house …
I felt isolated, passed over by God … and discouraged.
But then a thoughtful friend would visit, an encouraging card would arrive—it was an uplifting reminder that Christians cared. But most of all, it was a reminder that God cared! In some of the darkest, most depressing hours, God gave me hope and strength through a Christian television program that I just “happened” to see.
He infused me with His very life, giving me grace and sustenance in my moment of need.
This is what you’re helping us do for others with your generous donation!
You’re counseling someone who is hurting and alone, praying with them in their moment of need, giving them a timely word of encouragement—uplifting reminders that Christians care and are here to help them!
You’re providing online content that teaches, inspires, and uplifts—content someone just “happens” to click to in their desperate hour.
You’re providing the means through which God infuses others with His life – with His hope, His strength, His Truth, His peace.
Thank You for sharing God’s comfort!
Thank you in advance for your gift! God bless you for partnering with Shades of Grace as we bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to countless men and women around the world.
Together we are lifting depression, chasing away doubts, and imparting help and hope in Christ to these precious people. Thank you for showing that Jesus cares—that He intervenes. He sustains. He loves.
Thank you for making an investment in eternity! You are a valued member of the Shades of Grace team — a critical part of all that God is doing to change hearts and transform lives. We couldn’t do it without your support!
May God fulfill His promise in your life: “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).
May God bless you in every way possible for your faithfulness to His kingdom!
Donate Today
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Thank you for your generosity!
Shades of Grace is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by law.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, Shades of Grace will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
“Natalie Grace Nichols is experiencing God’s grace and freely expressing it. My wife, Betty, and I thank God for the ministry of Jesus through Natalie.”
“I’m so thankful that God is raising up women like Natalie for a new generation, providing biblically balanced teaching, encouragement, and comfort for people who are enduring life’s trials.”
