‘The only way to find yourself is in the fires of
sorrow. Why it should be this way is immaterial. The fact is that it is true in
the Scriptures and in human experience. You
can always recognize who has been through the fires of sorrow and received
himself, and you know that you can go to him in your moment of trouble and find
that he has plenty of time for you. But if a person has not been through
the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, having no respect or time
for you, only turning you away. If you will receive yourself in the fires of
sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.’ CHAMBERS
You don’t have to look far to find someone who has
dealt with sorrow in their life. Perhaps
they are still struggling with it and “it”, the source of the sorrow, has
shaped their view of life. Perhaps they
have lost hope .. they cannot see the promises of the Lord because of the
burden they carry …. They may have forgotten that … Isaiah 53:3 “He [Jesus, the Messiah] was despised, and rejected of
men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide
their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.”
People don’t need your words, they need your love.
Remember, “we love because He first
loved us”. 1 John 4:19 We give comfort to others because He first comforted us.
God uses us … jars of clay who have met sorrow
ourselves … to minister to others … 2
Corinthians 1:3-5 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in
all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the
sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” Our job is not to fix them, but to understand
the burden of sorrow and to love them. Usually
when people greet you and ask how you are doing, they really don’t want to know
the details … a simple “I’m fine” is what they are looking for. You must willing to go beyond that … Ask them
how you can pray for them … don’t try to identify with the particular source of
their sorrow … The balm of Gilead referred to in Jeremiah 8:22 was used to heal wounds. Jesus is the Balm for our sorrows, for our
wounds. “There is not a friend like the
lowly Jesus, no not one. Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide
till the day is done.”
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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