“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.” – Isaiah 53:3
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 or no longer trust in the promises of the Lord because of the burden they carry …. They may have forgotten that “Jesus knows all about our sorrows – that there is not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one!”
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.
“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.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
God uses us … fragile jars of clay who have met with sorrow ourselves … to minister to others. It’s been said that God never wastes a hurt. Our job is not to fix them, but to understand they are burdened with sorrow and to love them. Usually when people greet me and ask how I am 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 … Don’t try to solve their problem. 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. “Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done.” Let them see Jesus in you.
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 or no longer trust in the promises of the Lord because of the burden they carry …. They may have forgotten that “Jesus knows all about our sorrows – that there is not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one!”
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.
“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.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
God uses us … fragile jars of clay who have met with sorrow ourselves … to minister to others. It’s been said that God never wastes a hurt. Our job is not to fix them, but to understand they are burdened with sorrow and to love them. Usually when people greet me and ask how I am 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 … Don’t try to solve their problem. 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. “Jesus knows all about our struggles, He will guide till the day is done.” Let them see Jesus in you.
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