She looked at me through tear stained eyes and confessed, “I feel so alone, you do not understand how much this hurts.”
She was right, I didn’t understand it.
I had never walked the road she was walking. Though she was surrounded with friends and family during this painful time in her life, she needed someone to “get it”, someone to identify with the particular pain she was facing.
Loneliness is not about being alone. We can be in a crowded room, but so lonely our heart aches. We long for the gentle words of someone that can say, “I understand how you feel.”
How do we help a girlfriend who’s filled with sorrow and fear if we’ve never experienced it ourselves? The only way I know, is to bring her to Him. We bring her to the One who created her, the One who understands all of our grief and suffering.
You and I are vessels that God uses to bring life and hope to others, but we are not THE life or THE hope that they need. We are ambassadors, we represent the healer, but we do not heal. Even when we’ve walked through the same battle they are in, we still can only take them to a certain point in their journey and then they need the arms of the Savior to wrap around them and pour peace into their anxious, broken heart.
Occasionally, in my desire to help a friend, I will put myself in a position to “fix” things. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this is a recipe for disaster. God may use you and I to love someone and show them who He is, but we need to continue to remember that He is the only one that can bind the wounds and heal them.
Our God understands our loneliness and every pain we could ever feel.
She was right, I didn’t understand it.
I had never walked the road she was walking. Though she was surrounded with friends and family during this painful time in her life, she needed someone to “get it”, someone to identify with the particular pain she was facing.
Loneliness is not about being alone. We can be in a crowded room, but so lonely our heart aches. We long for the gentle words of someone that can say, “I understand how you feel.”
How do we help a girlfriend who’s filled with sorrow and fear if we’ve never experienced it ourselves? The only way I know, is to bring her to Him. We bring her to the One who created her, the One who understands all of our grief and suffering.
You and I are vessels that God uses to bring life and hope to others, but we are not THE life or THE hope that they need. We are ambassadors, we represent the healer, but we do not heal. Even when we’ve walked through the same battle they are in, we still can only take them to a certain point in their journey and then they need the arms of the Savior to wrap around them and pour peace into their anxious, broken heart.
Occasionally, in my desire to help a friend, I will put myself in a position to “fix” things. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this is a recipe for disaster. God may use you and I to love someone and show them who He is, but we need to continue to remember that He is the only one that can bind the wounds and heal them.
Our God understands our loneliness and every pain we could ever feel.
1 Chron 28:9
For the LORD sees every heart and understands and knows every
plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him.
NLT
For the LORD sees every heart and understands and knows every
plan and thought. If you seek Him, you will find Him.
NLT
It’s our job to remind those hurting that God knows every plan and thought. He understands their pain, He “gets it.” Jesus is living proof that we are never alone.
Matthew 1:23
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.
KJV
KJV
The message of Christmas proves that we are never alone, God is Emmanuel, and He IS with us. I pray that this truth wraps itself around your heart and not only helps you in time of loneliness but also helps you show others that He is with us.
What?!? Twenty-five dollars? For an ORNAMENT?
I have to admit it--I have a weakness for Christmas tree decorations, but I drew the line when I saw this ornament in the department store that day. It was the most original one I had ever seen--glass in the shape of a teardrop with etched gold curling in a spiral pattern all the way around the edge--the perfect balance of tastefulness and originality. It would be placed front and center on my tree, and those noticing it would comment on its beauty.
The price tag was nowhere to be found, though, so I waited in line three people back in order to get the price from the cashier. Imagine my surprise when I got to her and she said, "This is our original brand. It's a bargain at $25.00."
No way, I ranted inside my brain. I was so disgusted with the high cost that I didn't even put it back. Instead I said, "Thanks anyway," not so merrily, leaving it on the counter. I'm glad my bitter thoughts did not roll off my tongue.
Hours later, with the whole scene still mulling through my head, the Lord brought a convicting thought to my spirit:
That first Christmas was celebrated so differently than we celebrate it now. Nothing ornamental existed about it, other than THE Ornament, which was Jesus Himself. He was not wrapped up in bows, but in a simple cloth. The scene was not lit up with blinking, chasing lights, but illuminated by the stars alone. No finely decorated fir tree stood with pine-scented potpourri filling the room; instead, the air was filled with the odors of animal manure and hay.
Yet even without such sparkling accessories, that first Christmas was the most beautiful and glowing Christmas of all time. The presence of Jesus is what made it so magnificent.
I can't help but think of all the ways I decorate myself at Christmas. I look for the outfit that will stand out for the party, that blingy jewelry combo, the new trendy hairstyle. I often attach my confidence with how put together I look, how decorated my house is, how great I did on my gift choices. And I do so with my behavior as well--using my tongue to flatter, to dramatize, to draw attention to me, Me, ME.
This is the opposite of the example Jesus set for us when He was on the earth. He was humble and genuine in every way, pointing to God with His Word every time He spoke and with every action he took. My heart's desire is to do the same.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
"So all of us who have had that veil removed
can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes
us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."
No frills about it: Jesus is the grandest Ornament of them all. His authentic beauty will shine through us as we ask Him to redirect our attempts to decorate our lives with anything other than Himself. Let's wrap ourselves in His glorious image today.
Selah~ Pause. Ponder. Praise.
Let's be honest.
Things haven't changed THAT much in 2,010 years. Women are women, always have been. We are busy, we have to watch out for gossip and did I mention, we're busy?
If I had been alive THEN it likely would have looked a bit like this:
I imagine that if I would have been up before the cock crowed and I would have gone about the chores of the day.
I would have fetched the water, I would have fed the baby, I would have swept out the barn, (even though it was supposed to be somebody else's chore.)
I would have fed the animals.
I would have made the bread. (Wondering outloud, how in the world can these people of mine eat so much?)
I would have pressed some olives and drawn some water from the well.
I would have mended somebody's tunic that had gotten mysteriously ripped. (Time for the "play tunics" talk again.)
I would have made my way to the market.
I would have conversed with the women in the market, always trying to stop short of gossiping.
I would have 'heard' the rumors, everyone heard the rumors
I would have returned home, put the fire on; I would have made dinner and I would have put the babies to bed, and I would have taken one last look around our home before turning in for the night.
I would have looked up in the night sky, and simply not noticed that THIS night was different.
So we fast~forward 2,010 years, welcome to my world!
I get up before the alarm goes off, and I begin my day. I spend some time in quietly praying before my feet hit the floor.
Then it's off the bathroom for a shower and make~up, so as not to terrify the UPS man.
I would complete the never ending pile of laundry, and find myself mending the jeans that have mysteriously gotten ripped; need to have the "play" clothes talk again.
I would move on to emptying the dishwasher, (even though it was supposed to be somebody else's chore.)
The list of daily tasks would go on and on, you know it, you live it. Addressing the cards, calling a friend, responding to emails, braving the mall traffic, wrapping the gifts, waiting in the endless post office line, going to the grocery, going back to the grocery to get what I forgot the first time, chauffeuring my people to dance and basketball, remembering the teacher gifts!
The list continues and I find myself unloading the groceries, (wondering how these people of mine can eat so much) making dinner, tucking everyone in, unplugging the tree and the outdoor lights, and finally pausing to look up at the stars in the night sky.
Our lives with all their modern conveniences really haven't changed that much.
She missed it 2,000 years ago, not because she intended to. Sure she had heard the rumors swirling all about the town. Rumors of a baby born in a manger. She MEANT to be there, but she was just too BUSY.
The truth is, I am her. I am that same woman in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago.
Simply too busy to notice WHAT was going on around her.
The blessing in hindsight is that I can learn from her, the lesson of a lifetime. The heavenly hosts will announce it, the shepherds will find their way, the Kings will bring gifts, and as every woman who has ever walked before me, I have an opportunity to notice the significance of this night, the opportunity to notice the significance of the life of Jesus.
I silently vow that I will not be immersed in my own busyness that I miss it. I WILL see that star in sky; the star of HOPE, the star of LOVE, the star who welcomed GOD, coming to dwell with us. The star that whispers still today, "Be still and KNOW that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)
join Lori daily at her personal website,all you have to give, where she is listening for the whisper this season....
Welcome to the Weekend Blend at the Internet Cafe Devotionals!
We know that "Tis the Season!" Amidst the hustle and bustle we pray you'll find a place of quiet peace as we serve up some of our favorite devotionals from the past.
As with each month, we'll be serving up devotionals centered around a theme...
