"Too often we watch in self-righteous judgment as others writhe in pain before the trials of life, forgetting that God will hold us partially responsible because we did not offer encouragement when we could have."
That quote comes from a Bible study I'm a part of at our church. It was written and is led by a gentlemen, namely, Ken Stoltzfus. What an amazingly inspiring and convicting study, More Like Jesus.
My eyes have been opened to other folks pain and suffering in a whole other way, plus, I have gained insight of myself, in such a manner as is life-changing, through this Bible study. It has caused me to go back and kind of "feel" for a moment where I was emotionally a few short years ago when I battled depression and felt like I had nobody who understood me or cared enough to try and understand. I am sure, if you are reading this, you have either experienced this or know someone who has. I remembered a night in my deepest depression when I was lying in bed in the dead of the night, looking out the window at the moon and the stars and silently pleading with God, "please dear God if ever I get out of this depression, I promise to always be ears to others. I promise to always be there for others if I know they have a need. Please God, just help me out of this pain."
How quickly I moved away from that thought and got on with "my life". Reflecting on the quote at the top of the post and what I had prayed that one dark night, I am deeply ashamed to say so often I have not encouraged others as I should have. I've not stopped to ask someone if they might need an ear. You look around and you know someone near you is a statistic, somehow.
I can't change the past, but I can change my future and it is my new conviction that I want to be more sensitive to those around me who might have needs or hurts buried deep inside of themselves. This Bible study has brought back the resolve I had some years back to never let folks wallow in their pain by themselves. God has certainly used it as a reminder and all I can do is move forward now and put actions to my conviction.
This song means a lot to me. I hope it means something to you too.
Because I needed to remind myself is why I wrote out these thoughts.
Lue
No comments:
Post a Comment