WHEN SOMEONE DOESN’T ASK FOR YOUR HELP, IS
THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO?
During the holidays, we may have seen hurting family members or
friends. We try to help the best we can, but sometimes it seems they just can’t
receive it from us. Maybe they “know” the old us too well. It’s like Jesus when
he went to Nazareth, where he grew up: “He
did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt.
13:58). They only knew him as the carpenter’s son, as a regular guy, not the
spiritually tapped-in empowered guy he was now! God, in His foreknowledge,
already anticipated this scenario and provided a solution. There is always
something we can do.
Jesus explains it in Matthew 9:33-10:1. In verse
33, we see Jesus casting out a demon. In verse 35, we’re told he was “healing
every sickness and every disease among the people.” Verse 36 tells us when he
saw the multitudes, his heart went out to them. We all have these feelings of
compassion and love toward friends and relatives, especially during the
holidays it seems. But we can’t help them all. Jesus said: “The harvest truly
is plenteous, but the laborers are few” (v.37).
He told his disciples to pray that God would send
other laborers into His harvest. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,
that he will send forth laborers into his harvest” (v.38).
Then Jesus showed them how it would be done: He
sent out other laborers besides himself (chpt.10, verse 1). He didn’t say:
“Schedule more meetings for me.” He didn’t say: “I have to do it all myself.”
The Savior of the world, when he was here in the flesh, didn’t rely on himself
to deliver and heal everyone. What an amazing concept and a really important
one for us to understand.
As wonderful and powerful as Jesus was when he looked
with love and compassion at the hurting people right there in front of him, he
couldn’t help them all. When we see the people we love and they are hurting,
our hearts go out to them too. But we can’t help everyone, and there’s no need
to feel bad about not being able to help someone close to us. Sometimes I just
have to tell myself: “I’m not their savior.” If Jesus couldn’t heal
everyone close to him, why do we think we can?
But Jesus showed us a way to help them anyway.
He showed us we are to pray for another
Christ-inspired person to step in. What a wonderful and powerful thing to know,
and what a comfort and assurance. There’s never any guilt when it comes to
love. We can always help in some way. In Matthew 9:38, Jesus told us that God
is the Lord of His harvest, and we are to pray that He will send the laborers
into His harvest. Being the Lord of His harvest, He knows which
of His laborers will be best suited for each and every one of His harvest of
believers. He knows exactly who they will respond to and when.
People respond favorably to different people. You
don’t respond to everyone the same way, nor do your loved ones. They’ll connect
to someone who says the same thing you say, but when it comes from someone else,
it sounds much better. That’s just the way life is; we’re all that way.
We can offer help, but if it’s not taken, we can
still be very effective by praying for someone else to help them.
And what will that other laborer do? Much! Matthew
10:1 says they will have “power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.” That’s spectacular!
So don’t be discouraged if you’ve felt snubbed or
somewhat helpless. Instead, be encouraged; there’s power in prayer for another
laborer to come in to help when you can’t. And if you’re not being anxious
about someone you care about, then you free yourself up for God to bless you with
even more satisfying situations where you minister in even more amazing ways for
Him.
Love, Carolyn
I just sent for my second proof of BIBLE LESSONS
FROM NATURE . Once I make any needed corrections, it should be out in
less than 2 weeks! YAY! I’m very excited.
https://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-Molica/e/B007GZO1HA?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_15&qid=1651431514&sr=8-15
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