Receiving Hope to Carrying It Forward
August 31st 2026, Saturday evening at Sanger Park, families gathered beneath the open sky for Praise in the Park, hosted by Shepherds Heart Central Valley. Fresno Mission staff, Searcy Center students and their families, and members of Teen Challenge came together over barbecue, community resources and fellowship, with worship led by Kayla Alvarez, Fresno Mission’s Director of CalAIM. But when Pablo Davalos stepped forward to preach, his message began somewhere much more personal.
“Everyone who knows me knows my title means nothing,” Pablo told the crowd. “My title is rubbish.”
Today, Pablo serves as a director at Fresno Mission. But in 2010, he was on the other side of the Mission’s doors, going through the very program he now helps lead. And if things had gone according to his plan, he might not have stayed long enough to see what God intended to do with his life.
Pablo shared that before receiving his driver’s license, he wanted one thing, freedom. He wanted to get his license and leave California. He was ready to run. But God had other plans.
Instead of an escape, that license became part of his release into something new. Pablo stayed. He went to college. People poured into him. Slowly, the man who had once needed someone to believe God could transform his life became someone pouring that same hope into others.
“A vessel ended up pouring into the vessel,” he said. That picture became the heart of his message.
In Acts 9, Ananias hears God tell him to go to Saul, and his first response is essentially, Lord, I’ve heard about this man. He knew Saul’s reputation. God knew Saul’s purpose.
“Go,” the Lord told Ananias, “for this man is my chosen instrument.”
Pablo challenged the crowd with a question many of us wrestle with, how often do we become so caught up in who someone has been that we fail to see who God has chosen them to become? We put people into boxes. We define them by addiction, homelessness, failure, their past, their reputation or even by the way they define themselves. But God sees the vessel differently.
When the scales fell from Saul’s eyes, he did not spend years waiting until he felt qualified. Scripture says he immediately began proclaiming Jesus.
Pablo admitted that even standing on that stage Saturday required surrender. He had said yes when asked to preach, but inside, his heart was saying no. He didn’t consider himself a great speaker. He wrestled with the same feelings that keep so many Christians from stepping into what God asks of them, I’m not ready, I’m not qualified, someone else could do this better. But then comes the harder question. If I’m not willing, who will be?
Romans 9 reminds us that God is the potter and we are the clay. Yet so often, Pablo explained, the vessel tries to become the potter. We begin telling God who we should be, what we are capable of and how our story should unfold. But the clay doesn’t determine its purpose. The Potter does. And forming clay requires pressure.
Pablo pointed to the image God gave Jeremiah at the potter’s house. Clay is shaped, pressed and refined. Sometimes the pressure we feel is not evidence that God has abandoned us. It may be evidence that He is still shaping us.
That surrender also shows itself in the smallest moments. Pablo recalled visiting a shell shop in Morro Bay while wearing a Jesus shirt. After leaving, he looked at his receipt and realized he had been undercharged for the shells he purchased. He could have kept walking. Instead, he went back.
The woman behind the counter could see the name of Jesus across his shirt. In that moment, Pablo knew his actions had to reflect the One whose name he was carrying. Because being a vessel of Christ is about far more than what we say from a stage. We are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Pablo compared it to an Amazon delivery truck. No one waits excitedly at the window because of the truck itself. What matters is what the truck is carrying. The same is true of us.
“The treasure is extraordinary. The vessel is ordinary.” We cannot confuse the container with the contents. When a person surrenders to God, whatever comes through that life points back to Him. The excellence of the power belongs to God, not to us.
For Pablo, Fresno Mission was one of the vessels God used to change his life. Now God is using Pablo as a vessel for someone else.
His story is a reminder that the person receiving help today may be the person preaching hope tomorrow. The person walking through recovery may someday lead others through it. The person who feels unqualified may already be carrying exactly what God intends to deliver.
Pablo left the crowd with two things he believes keep a Christian strong and healthy in their walk with Christ, gratitude and surrender. Gratitude remembers who brought us here. Surrender allows Him to decide where we go next. With Christ, we give Him everything we are because He has already given everything He is.
So maybe the question isn’t whether we feel ready. Maybe it’s whether we are willing.
Never straight. Always forward.
Nights like this happen because people show up, some to preach and sing, some to serve food, and some to simply be present with our neighbors in Sanger. If this story stirred something in you, we’d love for you to be part of the next one. Whether you’re looking to volunteer at an upcoming outreach event or just want to learn more about what’s coming next, reach out to April Latham at volunteer@fresnomission.org.
