What works to help us not fall into the “cliché trap” when we see others struggling?
I have come along side many who have walked through circumstances that can best be characterized as “the nightmare we pray never comes.” When I look into their eyes of despair this is what they seem to say to me,
“Walk with me, listen to me, and support me. Please don’t talk just to fill the silence. If I have questions I’ll ask them. If I don’t, then just be around and help me with the basics of life. Please don’t try to explain my world, concern or struggle to me if I don’t ask. AND PLEASE don’t try to explain God to me if you have never experienced what I am experiencing. If you have experienced this same pain please share how God worked in your life when appropriate. I want to hear your experience, not Christian clichés. Clichés don’t help when the wheels have fallen off.”
So, what works? The basics: love, support, being around, and sharing (when asked) how God helped in similar experiences.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Faith and Fitness - Let’s Grow!
2 responses so far ↓
Richard Seymour // April 27, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Inspirational site. I will continue to read. As a professional boxer I have always followed the lords path, he guides my hands and feet and fills me with the desire to be the best I can. God bless.
Richard
http://abfitt.blogspot.com.
FaithAndfitness // April 27, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Richard, thanks for the positive feedback! You’re right about the Lord guiding us in ways he has gifted us. I love the famous quote in the movie Chariots of Fire, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” God wired each one of us a certain way for a purpose. He wants us to excel in that purpose, and when we do that it brings Him glory. I have worked with Warriors in combat—the protectors of America’s freedom. One of our favorite verses is Psalm 144:1, “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and fingers for battle.” Let us all grow to where we recognize our unique “wiring” and use it to God’s glory!
- Coach Greg
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