Don’t waste time

What do you do when you are hurting?  How do you spend your hours while going through your darkest days? Do you physically and mentally curl up into a fetal position and block everything out until it’s over, or do you lash out at all around you until you find some outside relief?

If we have chosen to follow Jesus, we know that our commitment is to pick up our crosses and follow him. This is not an option but what we must do, because a cross is assigned for all to carry whether we like it or not.  But if we lie like slugs and whimper underneath the weight of it, we will never be able to please our Lord. He carried his cross and so should we.

Jesus knows how hard it is to accomplish this task.  He knows the pain of being abandoned by friends and family, and he knows that it is the enemy of our souls who is behind every attack.

When we experience tribulation, we too need to be aware who the real enemy is.  It is not so much the people who betray us or do their best to harm us, it is the devil who is working through them.

They may be unaware that their hateful energy is supplied by him. They may think they are God’s defenders, as Saul thought as he terrorized and killed his contemporaries who chose to follow Jesus. Or they may think they are divinely designated whistle blowers of other Christians in order to “clean house” in one church or another. If the fruit of whatever action someone takes against another is bitter and causes division, then you can bet the action was not of God.

Have you ever thought that maybe you are experiencing a difficult time because you may be a conduit of the enemy to hurt someone else?  That thought has crossed my mind more than once. None of us are exempt from being tempted to work for the other side, and we had better be aware of that possibility.

In the mean time, instead of wasting our lives doing nothing with our suffering, we need to get up off the pity pot, as my husband’s mother used to say, and work. Write a song, visit a homebound person, volunteer time at a crisis center, or listen to someone else who needs an ear.

Because, “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. 1 Cor. 1: 4