I was text messaging with a dear dear friend the other day that I have known for over 10 years and we were just checking up on one another. She just had surgery a few weeks ago and well you all know whats been going on with me so we both weren’t able to speak very well so we have been keeping up with one another the best way we knew how.
She was telling me how she was doing, which isn’t the greatest, and she would like to be a little further ahead then she had planned or thought but then she said her heart was breaking because her daughters childhood friend, a good friend of the family, decided to take her own life. Oh gosh my heart just sank to the floor, but then she proceed with this comment. What I am going through seems so minor…
I immediately went before the throne room and I sent this message back to her. Yes but its what you are going through and how God is ministering to you and purifying you. Don’t discount what you are walking through but this is what it means when God says in scripture that I must become less so that others (Jesus) may become more. We cannot get so consumed with what we are going through in our own lives because there is always someone that is going through something, maybe even harder, more painful, or someone that has lost all their hope and you might be the phone call they need to bring to bring their spirits up or bring them back to HIM and HIS truths. If we do not get wrapped up in ourselves and leave the door open for God to bring people into our lives that need Him, it is then that we experience HIM and see HIS hand at work. Its how we come together as Christians, lifting one another up, weeping with those who weep, taking on our fellow brethren’s burdens, and standing in the gap when they feel they are just about to fall. It is then that we get to experience just how BIG and how great HE truly is and its AMAZING.
I believe this to be 100% truth and I stand pretty firm on it. That being said, I have to admit that these past 6 to 8 weeks seem to be such of a blur to me. In fact, there are DAYS that I flat out do not remember. I was on A LOT of major drugs and well I won’t get into it know but lets say I was drugged up pretty much 24/7 for weeks on end. So, I was not “consciously” aware of many peoples needs so I didn’t live this out as 100% truth but I will tell you as soon as all the drugs were stopped and my brain began to “normalize” one of the very first things I prayed for was for God to send me someone that might being going through something more difficult than I was so I could reach out to them, minister to them and love on them. Why? Because for me, that is the hands and feet of Jesus. To me, that is becoming less so that others (Jesus) may become more (John 3:30). That is getting my every thought, anxiety and fear off of me and looking to HIM, seeing how I can be used to bless others as I had been blessed. Do unto other as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31). We have been given the greatest calling and blessing we could ask for. We have Jesus in our hearts and we are called to disciple all the nations, meaning those around us, being the hands and feet of Jesus and being Jesus in the flesh. Why in the world would you want to waste that opportunity? That being said, it is also important that as you yourself are in the midst of the trenches that continue to stay aware of what God is doing in your own life and what He is trying to purify and refine during the journey.
I love my friends heart in this because what she could so easily get wrapped up in, what could be consuming her life and what she could be focusing on with her own situation, God showed her in a quick minute, my BELOVED daughter, I know you are in a hard place right now and I know you don’t think you are going to get out of it but your friends right over here, well they just experienced this unexpected loss and boy, they need you and your prayers. They need to know they are not alone and they need to see the hands and feet of me, Jesus. That does not mean that I forget about you, that we hit the pause button on your situation and shifted gears over here. What it means is that during your own suffering we can still weep with those who are weeping, take on others burdens and we can still show the unfathomable, unconditional, lavishing, anointed love of Jesus. We are able to minister to other as we ourselves are being ministered too. We are able to bless others as we ourselves are being blessed. What an amazing and “possible” thing to do.
The Scriptures tell us that NOTHING is impossible through Christ Jesus(Matthew 19:16) and we CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and you (Philippians 4:13). WOW this rings so much truth to me. God has showed me over and over again just how possible things are through HIM and that with me laying my life down before HIM, allowing Him to use me as His servant, His disciple, His hands and feet, I can do ALL things through HIM. Rest on this, allow it to soak in and allow Him to do a mighty work in and through you.
Can you imagine if we, as Christians truly surrendered this concept of becoming less and putting our focus on Others (HIM), the impact it would have? We would not need counselors and psychologists, we would need one another, the body of Christ. I get it, there are people that cannot weather the storm of someone else’s suffering and there are people that do not feel they need to or can take on another burden. This is one of the biggest areas God has worked on me through my own suffering, not to expect others to do what I would naturally do. This has lead to so many disappointments in the past, even currently but WOW do I have a new perspective now. As Jesus said on the cross as He was about to be face to face with God, “Forgive them for they do not know (Luke 23:24).” Instead of getting my feelings “hurt” from having an unrealistic expectation of others, I know see it as there are some people that just “can’t or don’t know how too,” and I am learning to become ok with it. However, if we would truly want to be walking out what scripture tells us to do and we ALL lived out these truths, it is then that we would look different from the world because people would see and experience the light, hope and lavishing love of Jesus. AMEN!!
I am not discounting what you are walking through in fact I am doing the complete opposite. I am telling you to not discount it but don’t become so consumed with it that you miss out on a blessing. I can tell you this, when I forget about me and focus on blessing others, I am the one that winds up getting blessed because when you see the look of desperation, fear, anxiety, loneliness, confusion, shame, doubt, rejection or abandonment in another’s eyes and you see how overwhelmed with joy they become when you “show up,” well then you begin to see the bigger picture, you see Christ’s hand at work. To me, there is no greater blessing, being a part of HIS kingdom work, well nothing excites me or blesses me more.
Love you all deeply and praying your day is filled with God opportunities to bless the masses. xoxoxoxo
**…..When I say “show up” that doesn’t literally mean you need to drop everything and go, although that would be amazing. Showing up could be a phone call, a text, a promoting of the Holy Spirit for you to do or send something, sending a scripture, a worship song, or even an emoji. It doesn’t mean you have to show up where they are, cook a meal, babysit or whatever fits in that category. It means you listen to the Holy Spirit and you allow that person or individuals know you are thinking about them, praying for them, and if they needed anything you were there for them. It allows someone to know you are thinking about them, praying for them, and that they have not been forgotten. You would be amazed what that could do or how it can shift someones day and outlook. The only they could say is ONLY GOD, and that is how we glorify and honor HIM…..**