Facing Every Situation Together

“In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

We live in a world that encourages us to pretend.  We don’t want people to think we’re a mess so we keep things hidden.  We fear what our family and friends might think if they knew what’s really going on so we keep up the smiles.  “I’m fine…OK…great…. How are you?”

But Jesus frees us to be ourselves.  He accepts us warts and all. He doesn’t keep His distance as we struggle along helplessly.  He’s got His loving arms wrapped around us tightly each step, or misstep, along the way.  That’s incredibly freeing, especially since we all have issues. Probably a handful.

When we’ve walked with Jesus for a while we have a story to tell.  Even if we don’t feel 100% better, our weakness continues to drive us into the arms of Christ where we’re forgiven, have our wounds bandaged, and our hope renewed.  We’ve learned how weak we are without Him.  He’s become our refuge and that’s made all the difference in our lives.

But then, the God who comes alongside us asks us to come alongside others.

When you open up your heart to hurting people, and share how God has been helping you face your own issues, something beautiful happens.  You become the arms of Christ. Your words become His.  Your compassion becomes the fragrance of Jesus that draws people into His arms.

You don’t have to fix anybody.  That’s God’s job.  And you don’t have to minister to everyone, just the people God puts in your life.  But the important thing is that we’re making ourselves available.

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)

If you’ve faced an issue and want to share about it with someone, drop me a note. I’d love to hear what God has been doing in your life, and it would be a blessing to be able to pray for you.  God bless you, and have a great weekend! 

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