Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
1 26 2026
The Reach of Obedient Hands
When Obedience Reaches Further Than We Can.
There’s a moment in Scripture that often slips past us because it’s so familiar. Jesus looks at a crowd—tired, hungry, scattered—and He turns to His disciples and says, “You give them something to eat.”
Not someday. Not when you have more.
You… Give… Now.
They look down at what they’re holding. Five loaves. Two fish. Not much. Certainly not enough for a crowd that size. And yet Jesus never asks them what they don’t have.
He asks what they’re willing to place in His hands.
I’ve learned something over the years: compassion usually begins with discomfort. If it doesn’t cost us something—time, prayer, attention, resources—we tend to call it concern instead of love.
I once watched a child grip the sleeve of a volunteer who was leaving a mission field. Not crying. Just holding. As if letting go meant losing something essential. That child wasn’t asking for money or gifts. They were asking the question every human heart asks at some point: Do I matter when you’re gone?
That’s where missions lives—not in passports or programs, but in the quiet work of anchoring hearts to a truth that lasts longer than a visit. The Gospel reminds us that our value doesn’t come from who notices us, but from who claims us.
We sometimes talk about missions as though it belongs to churches, organizations, or “those called people.” But Scripture never draws that line. We are the Church. The hands that pray are meant to be the same hands that help, give, send, and go—as each is able. Some of us cross oceans. Some of us cross the room. Some of us write checks with the same reverence others preach sermons.
Paul wrote that some plant, some water, but God gives the increase. None of those roles are small. None are optional.
As a father, I’ve had a front-row seat watching someone I love quietly step into that story—not chasing adventure, not collecting experiences, but responding to a tug she couldn’t ignore. My daughter Danae is preparing for mission work with children here and abroad, carrying this same burden: that their identity would be rooted in Christ alone, long after the teams go home.
I share that not to elevate her, but to remind us how God often works—through ordinary obedience, through willing hearts, through people who simply say yes and trust God with the rest.
If the Lord stirs you to pray, please pray. If He stirs you to give, give freely and joyfully. If He stirs you to share the need with someone else, do that too. Every loaf matters when it’s placed in the right hands.
And if you’d like to learn more about the work Danae is stepping into, her information is available below—not as a demand, but as an open door as God leads you.
Because the Gospel has always moved forward the same way:
one heart, one hand, one obedient step at a time.
Grace and peace,
Dennis
Mission Trips
Alaska: https://seumissions.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/danaepiller3
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keKek6RkFmY
Jesus My King Lauren Daigle
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