Corinthians 4: 17-18: For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix
our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is
temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
I got a call at 4.00 a.m. this
morning from a very distressed and crying relative. Her tears obviously came
from a place of much grief and sadness.
In trying to comfort her, I tried to
avoid ramming down her throat the plethora of Bible verses normally used in
situations like this, lest they come across like clichés.
I listened while she sobbed almost
uncontrollably, and I prayed that I could find the right words to make her feel
better.
After the crying stopped, we
chatted about little nothings and she even laughed at some of my goings on with
my Stat classes and the like. Her mood lightened and the emotional weight lifted
somewhat. She sounded lighter.
Because of the listening-and-not-giving-advice-at-first
approach, when she finally settled down emotionally, she was so open to hear
what the word of God had to say about tragedies like the one she was going
through.
Sometimes our first response to
cries for help, might be the temptation to dispense counsel and expect the
victim to take it on board immediately, but I’m learning that when someone is
in pain, they might only want a listening ear, a hug, a napkin to wipe away the
tears.
Rushing in with countless quotes
from the Bible might seem like the spiritual thing to do. But we have to wait a
while, feel the emotional psyche of the person and then gently reach out to
give what we can to help at the moment.
Trials do come at the worst times
it seems, but come they will. Keeping an above-looking perspective as the verse
on top encourages us, really lightens the burden at the rightest time. If it
depends on human will alone to feel good in a bad situation, it would all seem
hopeless.
To keep hope alive, it takes the
God of all comfort to strengthen, heal and impart the rightest balm to our
wounds.
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