Help from the Hurting
Theme of the Week: Spotting the Gain in Pain
Paul Borthwick
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
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Key Bible Verse: He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us (2 Corinthians 1:4). Bonus Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3–7
Our church planned a "Global Awareness Week," and assigned an international speaker to every group. For the divorce-recovery support group, it was Krister Sairsingh, a Trinidadian converted to Christ from Hinduism. A week before the scheduled meeting, the group leader called and asked to cancel: "We have so many hurting people, I don't think they can handle hearing about outreach and developing global concern."
Krister came up with the solution. He went to the group as scheduled and, drawing on 2 Corinthians 1:4, spoke on how God uses us in spite of our brokenness. As a result of Krister's encouragement, the group chose to "adopt" (through prayer, letters, and gifts) a single mother of three serving as a missionary nurse and teacher in Angola. They knew they could empathize with the challenges she faced, and decided to play the part of home support for a fellow single parent.
Krister hit on a core biblical truth—that God can use even our pain for His sovereign purposes. God used Joseph, abandoned, betrayed, and imprisoned, to achieve His purposes. Joseph later told his brothers, "God turned into good what you meant for evil."
—Paul Borthwick in Six Dangerous Questions
My Response: How does a trial I'm enduring position me to support someone else?
Thought to Apply: God gives burdens, also shoulders.
—YIDDISH PROVERB
Adapted from Six Dangerous Questions (InterVarsity, 1996) by permission.
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click
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I realize, Lord, that You don't let trials through on a whim. So help me gain the benefits You intend from them.
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