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. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Have you ever watched a TV program that was being broadcast from a place where you had visited? When this occurs you can visualize yourself in that location and sometimes remember many details from the surrounding setting and even the emotions you experienced when you were there. I vividly remember how I felt in 2005 when President Bush spoke from New Orleans’ Jackson Square following the devastating damage of that city after Hurricane Katrina. As I watched, the tears welled up in my eyes because only a few months before I had been at that very landmark. I could recall the shops around the square and walking across the street to Café Du Monde where I enjoyed several fresh-made beignets. While I would have been touched by the destruction from this event even during normal circumstances, my heart ached for the people who lived and worked in this city because I had personally been there.
Life experiences sometimes equip us to be prompted to help in situations that tug at our heart. It’s part of that sense of urgency that the Holy Spirit provokes in our lives. Who better to help a very sick individual than someone else who has had that illness and survived? Who better to talk to when you are experiencing child-rearing issues than another who has gone through struggles with their own children? Because God has allowed a similar situation to occur in your life, you are now equipped to help someone get on the other side of their problem.
Yes, the very God who is at the center of our faith will, at times, allow heartache and sorrow to occur in our lives. It is that same God who, with His great love for us, helps to carry us out of the valley so we can begin our journey back up the mountain again. Why would that very God, then, not encourage us to intervene when we see someone else struggling through a situation that so closely parallels our own? It’s like He is saying, “Okay, you have been here. You are familiar with the territory and all the surrounding feelings. You know how you got from this place to where you are now. So, you are my instrument . . . go help.”
It’s when we do this that we begin to understand why we went through that experience. It’s also the beginning of the healing journey for the hurting individual. Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” True empathy and some of our best strengths come out of our own experience. After all, scripture tells us that “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17). So, go hone your skills.
Reflection: What are some of the times that you have felt most vulnerable in your life? Who did God send to help you through it? What did you learn from that experience that makes you uniquely qualified to allow God to use you? What miracle has happened when you have loved someone because you felt that nudging from God to do so?
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