“[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 1:4-5 (NLT) When you’re going through pain, you can choose to focus on yourself or on other people. When you choose to focus on serving other hurting people, that’s called redemptive suffering. It is the highest and best use of your pain. No matter what pain you’ve gone through, Jesus wants to redeem your suffering. He doesn’t want it to be wasted! He wants to use it to help other people when they are in pain. “[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:4-5 NLT). Who’s better qualified to help a struggling veteran than somebody who’s been a struggling veteran? Who’s better qualified to help someone recovering from a prescription drug addiction than somebody who has recovered from a prescription drug addiction? Who could better help someone who is suffering from a chronic illness than someone who has also suffered in the same way? Your greatest ministry will come out of your deepest pain. If you’ll be honest with God, others, and yourself about whatever struggle you’ve faced, then that struggle will become your ministry. Sharing your strengths doesn’t make you feel any closer to someone. But when you share the experiences that have led you to surrender to God and rely on his strength, then you’ll be connected to others more deeply than you can imagine. Why? Because when you—as a broken person—share with other broken people how God has restored you, you’re not just sharing something you have in common. You’re sharing hope that other people can also experience redemption through Jesus Christ. Sharing your pain helps you and the people around you to grow in Christ. Using your pain to serve others is a form of ministry. Don’t waste your pain. Let God use it for your greatest ministry.
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“A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.”
Proverbs 27:3 (NLT) Any time you breathe bitterness, you suffocate your spirit. Bitterness doesn’t just choke out your happiness and your healthy emotions. It also strangles your spirit. When you have bitterness in your heart, you can’t breathe spiritually. Bitterness will only weigh you down and depress your spirit. Proverbs 27:3 says, “A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier” (NLT). Choosing bitterness is like choosing to carry around a huge weight with you everywhere you go, all the time. It’s an unnecessary load, but you’ve made the choice to bear it. Sometimes you may think you can hurt the person who hurt you by holding on to what happened—that by staying mad, the other person will become miserable. But bitterness is a worthless weapon. It doesn’t hurt the other person. It only makes you miserable. The person that hurt you is probably not even aware that you’re thinking about them all the time. Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the person that hurt you. But that person is out there somewhere, eating a steak dinner and living their best life. They’re not even thinking about you! They’ve already moved on with their life. It’ll be a waste of your time to keep trying to use bitterness as a weapon. You’re only going to hurt yourself. You may have been hurt by someone a long time ago, and I’m sorry you had to experience that pain. But here’s the good news: They can’t hurt you anymore! The only way they can continue to hurt you is if you choose to hold on to the hurt and replay it over and over in your mind. The Bible says in Job 18:4, “You are only hurting yourself with your anger” (GNT). You don’t have to hurt anymore. Let go of your hurt. Surrender it to God. When you do, you’ll breathe in the fresh, sweet air of freedom and be able to move forward with purpose. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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