Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1 Pet 5:7 

Have you ever experienced Pain? Sadness? Loneliness? Depression? Anxiety? Grief? Did someone come alongside to help or comfort you? Who was it that helped you get through that difficult time? Was it a friend, a relative, a counselor, etc. who helped you? No matter what we face it is comforting to know that we are never truly alone. As Christians, we have the assurance of knowing that the God of Comfort is there for us.

2 Cor 1:3-5 

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 

Even when we face trials, God is there. But we are also called to care for each other. As each of us grows in our relationship with God, and our depth of understanding of who He is deepens, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to care for one another.

1 Cor 12:25 

25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

Have you ever stopped to consider how you can help other people? With everything you have endured in life, you are a resource of comfort and care for others. The lessons you have learned through your life experiences can help others as they face challenges in their lives.

One of the most important things we can realize is that no matter how much we struggle, how deep our pain, how challenging our battle, we are never truly alone when we have Jesus. His presence is constant. He is faithful. He never leaves us. He also equips each of us to comfort and strengthen one another. Do not underestimate how God can use you to help others.

So, how do we know when to help someone else? If you are like I am, many times we are so focused on the sound of our own voice or so busy focusing on our own things that we miss the God assignments placed right before us. When we see someone in need, we expect someone else to help them when in all actuality maybe we are the ones who should be helping them. If all of us in the church would shift our focus away from ourselves toward others, we might see what opportunities God has for us. If we make ourselves available and open to God, He will identify ways in which we can respond.

When it comes down to it, each of us has a calling on our lives that goes beyond ourselves. We are all called to care for one another as we strive to be more like Christ.  

Love & Blessings,

Rick Anderson