Posts Tagged ‘neighbor’

…to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3

A few years ago a church asked me to teach for their women. They said that they had many “hurting women” in their congregation and they didn’t feel that they were ministering to them as they should.

We did a retreat called “Beauty from Ashes.”  In the lectures we talked about the Balm of Gilead from the book of Jeremiah and how God took Habakkuk from fear of the future to faith in whatever God did. We looked at the life of Joseph and saw how God took all that pain and used it powerfully for the good of His people.

Then, to wrap up the goodness of the Lord in our difficulties, we looked at how He can take our ashes and turn them into a beautiful headdress and the oil of gladness (Isaiah 61:3 {ESV above]).

In recent weeks I have been hearing many stories of Christians in very difficult circumstances. These have ranged from difficult issues in marriage to drug overdoses, crashing relationships, and financial hardships.

These people are in our pews on Sunday mornings. They sit with us looking fine. They wear a pleasant smile and carry their Bibles. Everything appears to be good but there is a lot pain being hidden.

Are we ministering to these people?

I fear we have become the “get out of church fast” generation. We are not taking time to ask anyone how things are going. We might even think we already know because we see what they put on social media. We assume that the appearance is what is real and we make judgments based on it.

It was impressive that a woman in that church at which I spoke was just looking around and could see that there were many issues that were not being addressed – neither by those experiencing them nor the people of God who sat with them every week.

This time of year can be difficult for those who are experiencing troubles. Losing a parent, suffering an illness, family or relationship issues, (the possibility of things wrong could cover a huge span of issues).

Will you engage others after your worship services?  Don’t just see how well “put together” they look but ask how they are, read their body language. If they said something on Facebook about a problem or a loss, ask them about it. Show compassion, wait for answers. Don’t be in a hurry.

I’m asking that we stop and listen to our neighbor this week. We can be ambassadors for Christ; merciful, compassionate, building them up, and encouraging them to seek Him and His kingdom first – and then He will add the things they need. (Matthew 6:33’ 14:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Who needs your attention – in or outside the church?