Daily Devotional for February 16, 2014

Hebrews 2:18
Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Yesterday, a schoolmate named Carol messaged me and asked if I would post a prayer request for her on Facebook.  She was distraught over recent events involving her mother, an Alzheimer’s patient who lives in a nursing home and has experienced several falls and a broken hip in recent weeks.  Carol lives 800 miles away in another state and is unable to be with her mother right now, and she was feeling incredibly frustrated, worried, and alone.  I posted a prayer request for her and spelled out her needs, as well as those of Carol’s mother – and her brother who lives close by and serves as his mother’s guardian.

In no time at all, dozens of comments were posted.  Many “tagged” Carol on Facebook and gave her words of encouragement and advice.  Some had “been there, done that” with their own parents, and they were able to offer tremendous comfort to Carol because of their own “suffering and testing”.  One person in particular described how she had cared for her own mother as she suffered from dementia.  She made some constructive suggestions for how to handle this situation – and the accompanying emotions.  It was a blessing to be able to petition prayers for this family…and even more so to read the responses and see how so many people stepped up to offer compassion and support.

This is what we are supposed to do. I was listening to a sermon recently by Pastor Joel Osteen, and he reminded us that God uses our trials and tribulations for His purposes.  When He allows us to experience something that is difficult or unpleasant, we often question why these things happened.  Many times we cannot see that God has plans to use these circumstances in some manner. It may happen 3 days from now…or 30 years down the road.  But God will not waste these events.  And it might just be that He is setting us up to help someone else.

So while you wonder why you are facing so many challenges with your aging parents, God might be planning to put you in a position to someday support and encourage someone else who is going through the same thing. If you struggled to get through a course in biology, God might put others in your path who face the same struggle, so that you can reassure them that they can handle this.  If someone stole your credit card and racked up a huge bill, God might show you a way to warn others…or to share with someone what you did to recover – and how he/she can, also.

The bottom line is that God never wastes an opportunity to show us His love and compassion…and He expects us to do the same for others.  Look around you.  Who needs your compassion, encouragement, and reassurance?  Where can you share a personal experience and give something that may have seemed truly horrible a positive spin…while helping someone else who is going through the same thing?  How can you share God’s love and compassion with others and emulate Jesus Christ?

Are you ready to reach out to the people around you…to allow God to work in and through you and turn your suffering and testing into opportunities to minister to others?  In the words of Pastor Osteen, will this be the day you become a “victor” in Christ instead of a “victim” of circumstances?  Will you truly demonstrate the love of Jesus to others by sharing in their burdens?  Isn’t it time you did?

©2014 Debbie Robus