“Okay, God. I can’t handle this, so let’s exchange it. I will give you my worries and I will take on Your yoke—Your promise to take care of me.”
—Jasmine Sundar
A conversation with Jasmine Sundar, Director of Digital Engagement, reveals how much we have in common across the globe: we are God’s children and He uses us to build each other up in our faith through His Word.
She lives in Hyderabad, India, and has been contributing to the marketing team at the Chennai office for seven years. Nearly a year ago, she began working with the Canada office as well—two of our offices get to work with her!
Jasmine reads, watches, and listens to Our Daily Bread Ministries’ devotional material every day for her job, and her favorite ODBM product is the Our Daily Bread devotional. She feels the same way most of us do about these devotions:
“It’s like somebody wrote it for me. I know how long ago it was written, and the process it goes through with approvals, editing, printing, and distribution. It amazes me that something that was written so far earlier on—across the world—can still connect to where I am in life.”
In fact, her favorite part of her job is reading our devotional content so she can select which material to promote in a given month. One of her not-so-favorite responsibilities is uploading videos to YouTube along with captions:
“It’s not the most exciting part of my job. Sometimes I wonder—is there anyone out there that really benefits from this? But one day I read a comment from one of our YouTube followers who said, ‘Thank you for uploading captions. They really make a difference because I’m deaf.’ I was so struck at that moment. God spoke to me that day. Even the small things can matter to someone! And now I do it very happily.”
Hearing feedback like this from our viewers and readers is such a powerful encouragement that we are on the right path, God is speaking to people’s hearts through His Word and our material. Even a brief comment can have a huge impact—we build each other up as children of God! Jasmine learned recently how important it is to stand strong in our identity as His children:
“I went through a really hard family conflict and lost my sense of identity as a child of God. I didn’t know who I was. In spite of the fact that I was going to church and working at the ministry, that hard time completely shook me. I didn’t think I had the strength to get through it. I wanted to run away. But it has been three years, and God has been so faithful to me.”
God spoke to Jasmine through Matthew 11:28–30.
When things get hard, she prays, “Okay, God. I can’t handle this, so let’s exchange it. I will give you my worries and I will take on your yoke—your promise to take care of me.”
After going through that valley experience, with prayer and clinging to God’s Word, Jasmine now is solidly grounded in her identity as His child. A Scripture that helped her stand strong is Joshua 1:5–6.
Jasmine says, “I know there is Someone who will never ever give up on me even if the rest of the world did. Now I understand who I am in Christ, unconditionally loved. And I am happy being who I am. Someone’s rejection doesn’t define my identity.”
Amen! As we hear about God’s work in each other’s lives, we are encouraged! Our hearts cry out “Yes!” and “Amen” to God’s Word and its truth manifesting in people’s lives—just like how we respond to our favorite devotional. Let’s keep sharing and building each other up in faith.
Thank you, readers, viewers, and listeners, for continuing to join us as we walk together through our daily lives. Like Jasmine, we are children of God journeying over hills and through valleys; we are strengthened by journeying together, reading His Word, and encouraging each other—sometimes even in a short YouTube comment.
