Thought for the Day:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our
affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
This passage says that the comfort we receive from God
when we are undergoing difficulties can be passed on to others undergoing
similar situations. That’s one of
benefits that we gain from our difficulties.
I recognize that no affliction is actually good; but it can enable us to
have a positive effect on others because “we’ve been there--done that.” We may not have any words of wisdom to share
or acts of kindness that we perform; however, just being there for the other
person can be a powerful ministry to them (called a “ministry of presence”). It demonstrates that you care, and although
no two situations are exactly the same, you have at least an idea of what the
other person is going through. That
means so much to someone who is scared, uncertain, lonely, or hurting.
Here are two examples of how I’ve seen idea working out
in my life. You probably have your own
examples of “passing on what you’ve received” as well.
Example #1: As an amputee, I
belong to several Face Book groups for amputees. When it comes to understanding the issues
that amputees face, there is no one better than a fellow amputee. You see this especially when someone joins
the group who has recently become an amputee.
They don’t know what to expect or how things work. It takes a while just to understand all the
terms and abbreviations that are used for amputees and their prosthetic
limbs. It’s great to see someone who has
even just a little experience as an amputee sharing their story and encouraging
a more recent amputee. Becoming an
amputee can be a scary experience; but having someone who is living the “Amp
Life” come along side you can be very beneficial. It gives those in distress a glimmer of hope
that there is “life after amputation;” and it can be a rich full life as
well. The recent amputee learns that, “Others
have gone down this path before me and survived; and I am not alone.”
Example #2: I’m trained to
lead Stress Debriefings for emergency services personnel who are working
through things after responding to a difficult call. There is a team of trained volunteers who do
stress debriefings to help firefighters, police officers, emergency medical
personnel, and dispatchers. Our
emergency services workers face incidents on a regular basis that most of us
could never imagine—nor would we want to.
Stress takes its toll on these men and women, and the debriefing team
works to help them get through it a little easier and faster than they would on
their own. Each debriefing team has
someone who leads the group through the process (like me); but the most helpful
members of our team are usually the peer support members. These are people who are either past or
present emergency service workers themselves who are trained in stress management. The police officers, firefighters, EMS, or
dispatchers who need the debriefing usually listen to these peer support team
members the most closely. That’s because
these volunteers have done the job and have had many similar experiences. When they talk about how to deal with stress
of a difficult call, people listen, because “they’ve been there—done that.”
So the process goes like this… You undergo difficult situation of some
kind. You received God’s comfort and
strength to get you through it. Maybe
that comfort came through your personal faith, the words of scripture, or the
intervention of some other person or organization. Now when you see someone else going through
similar difficulty, you have the opportunity to be an agent of God bringing
comfort, encouragement, and hope to someone in need.
Don’t be afraid to volunteer or get involved, whether that is in some
organized fashion or just occasionally when you see a need arise. We aren’t
meant to stand alone. We are a team, a
family, a brotherhood. What you’ve
received—pass on to others.
