I’ve no additional thoughts about today’s study, except to say that many people find it difficult to sit along side someone who is hurting, and just ‘silently’ – be there, for them – it’s an act of love, which can only be empowered by the Holy Spirit working within us.
It is us, acting like Jesus – using His quiet love, to comfort another, during their time of distress.
Selwyn introduced this study as follows: “We saw yesterday how our Lord was there for His disciples when, because of their bewilderment, not one of them was fully following Him. Being there is not giving advice; it is saying in nonverbal ways: “This is not the time for talking but, as far as I am able, I want to bear the pain with you.”
I was especially taken with the quote that Selwyn uses, (regarding the man with the difficult wife): ‘My only wish is that I might be able though a Christlike attitude to give her a taste of how much God loves her, and, above all else, my longing is to be there for her until she leaves this world for eternity.’
We can only have a Christlike attitude, when we allow the Spirit of Jesus within us, to control our lives so that He can freely express His love through us. Do you agree that our Christian ‘church’ suffers; because, in general, we are reluctant to completely hand over to God, all our spiritual decisions and all our relationships (including the difficult ones)?
Jesus did not walk away from the disciples during their difficult times when they did not understand what He was doing; likewise – He will never walk away from us – He loves us, in the exactly the same way that He loved the first twelve disciples. And that must be a great encouragement to all of us?
The prayer for today is also good: “O God, thank You for those in my life who have been there for me during a time of pain or sorrow. May I in turn be there for someone who needs me now or at any time in the future. I ask this through Your Son’s worthy and wonderful name. Amen.”
Nonverbal but empowering
I’ve no additional thoughts about today’s study, except to say that many people find it difficult to sit along side someone who is hurting, and just ‘silently’ – be there, for them – it’s an act of love, which can only be empowered by the Holy Spirit working within us.
It is us, acting like Jesus – using His quiet love, to comfort another, during their time of distress.
Selwyn introduced this study as follows: “We saw yesterday how our Lord was there for His disciples when, because of their bewilderment, not one of them was fully following Him. Being there is not giving advice; it is saying in nonverbal ways: “This is not the time for talking but, as far as I am able, I want to bear the pain with you.”
I was especially taken with the quote that Selwyn uses, (regarding the man with the difficult wife): ‘My only wish is that I might be able though a Christlike attitude to give her a taste of how much God loves her, and, above all else, my longing is to be there for her until she leaves this world for eternity.’
We can only have a Christlike attitude, when we allow the Spirit of Jesus within us, to control our lives so that He can freely express His love through us. Do you agree that our Christian ‘church’ suffers; because, in general, we are reluctant to completely hand over to God, all our spiritual decisions and all our relationships (including the difficult ones)?
Jesus did not walk away from the disciples during their difficult times when they did not understand what He was doing; likewise – He will never walk away from us – He loves us, in the exactly the same way that He loved the first twelve disciples. And that must be a great encouragement to all of us?
The prayer for today is also good: “O God, thank You for those in my life who have been there for me during a time of pain or sorrow. May I in turn be there for someone who needs me now or at any time in the future. I ask this through Your Son’s worthy and wonderful name. Amen.”