I find there are various approaches in dealing with people in the Body of Christ. Some pastors have my mother’s approach which is “keep the stiff upper lip.” My mom did not like me being a cry baby and she would slap the methylate on my cuts, and blow on them some, but I was screaming the whole time.
I personally, like the hand holding approach. I was a benefits coordinator at this small manufacturing firm, here in Indiana and when the stockholders voted to sell the company to a competitor, people got cut from their jobs after 25 years of employment. I was asked by the management to walk some of them out to their car with a box of Kleenex. The president of the company said I was the “softer” side of management. They did not have an HR manager, and it was sort of like being a bartender or a hairdresser, I got to hear all the employee’s problems about losing their jobs while they laid off several people. I went to work for another company (IUPUI) rather than drawing unemployment.
We can either be the softer side of God (soft as Charmin toilet paper) or the vengeful side. I only was with the company for l-l/2 years when they sold to their competitor so I could keep my composure.
The Children of Israel saw Pharaoh’s chariots rushing towards them when Moses told them “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” The people did not have their composure. Some people call it being stuck between a rock and a hard place. This one lady at a women’s retreat called it being stuck between a rock and a grace place!
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Exodus 14:13
The Good Samaritan had the softer approach as far as getting down in the pit with the guy beaten who was naked and clothing him and putting him on the donkey, taking him to the hotel, and making sure he was nursed to health.
Anyway, most people I know like the hand-holding approach rather the “prophets” role of keep the stiff upper lip and scriptures quoted at them. Not to say that quoting scriptures is all bad, but I noticed that even when Nathan told David, “Thou art the man David.” Nathan told David this heart wrenching poor little lamb story where it totally infuriated David by the time he was done with the story since David was a shepherd. So there is a person with the gift of prophesy that knows how to capture his audience.
I like what God said to Abraham, I am your reward: After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Genesis 15:1
My payday is in different terms than what this life holds for me. I realized that a long time ago. As far as how I am running a race of life. How are we running this race in life? I certainly don’t want to reap havoc on people’s lives by my deeds and words. My goal is reap havoc on the enemy and when I stand before the Lord, to have someone say, “Thank you for giving me the words of eternal life.”
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68
There are times in our lives when all chaos breaks lose. The kids have the flu and then we get the flu or virus, financial difficulties, rebellious teenage children, some relative ends up terminally ill in the hospital (I lost three that way), or we see other family members going down a path that you know is not good for them. I have Christian friends going through some pain from a dating relationship that broke up. I was praying about a difficult situation and I heard this scripture last night:
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1
….notice with the winds and waves disturbed Jesus disciples in the boat and they woke Jesus asking him “if he cared that they perish.” (Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Mark 4:38). Maybe subconsciously we think that God is not listening or cares because of the winds and waves of life?
When we go through pain and grief whether it is due to job loss, death, relationship breakups, finances our soul is disturbed. Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. I like the way David takes control over his soul and tells it to be still (Psalm 46:10). He also told his soul to “hope in the Lord.”
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope Psalm 130:5
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20
I like this song which is combination of be still my soul and what a friend we have in Jesus. In losing my best friend in life, I know Jesus is my friend. I heard that the reason that the Father has not told Jesus when he is coming back to earth is because Jesus would tell his friends.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you John 15:15
Be Still My Soul by Selah:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zHn4QSH-8
I personally, like the hand holding approach. I was a benefits coordinator at this small manufacturing firm, here in Indiana and when the stockholders voted to sell the company to a competitor, people got cut from their jobs after 25 years of employment. I was asked by the management to walk some of them out to their car with a box of Kleenex. The president of the company said I was the “softer” side of management. They did not have an HR manager, and it was sort of like being a bartender or a hairdresser, I got to hear all the employee’s problems about losing their jobs while they laid off several people. I went to work for another company (IUPUI) rather than drawing unemployment.
We can either be the softer side of God (soft as Charmin toilet paper) or the vengeful side. I only was with the company for l-l/2 years when they sold to their competitor so I could keep my composure.
The Children of Israel saw Pharaoh’s chariots rushing towards them when Moses told them “Stand still and see the salvation of God.” The people did not have their composure. Some people call it being stuck between a rock and a hard place. This one lady at a women’s retreat called it being stuck between a rock and a grace place!
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Exodus 14:13
The Good Samaritan had the softer approach as far as getting down in the pit with the guy beaten who was naked and clothing him and putting him on the donkey, taking him to the hotel, and making sure he was nursed to health.
Anyway, most people I know like the hand-holding approach rather the “prophets” role of keep the stiff upper lip and scriptures quoted at them. Not to say that quoting scriptures is all bad, but I noticed that even when Nathan told David, “Thou art the man David.” Nathan told David this heart wrenching poor little lamb story where it totally infuriated David by the time he was done with the story since David was a shepherd. So there is a person with the gift of prophesy that knows how to capture his audience.
I like what God said to Abraham, I am your reward: After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." Genesis 15:1
My payday is in different terms than what this life holds for me. I realized that a long time ago. As far as how I am running a race of life. How are we running this race in life? I certainly don’t want to reap havoc on people’s lives by my deeds and words. My goal is reap havoc on the enemy and when I stand before the Lord, to have someone say, “Thank you for giving me the words of eternal life.”
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68
There are times in our lives when all chaos breaks lose. The kids have the flu and then we get the flu or virus, financial difficulties, rebellious teenage children, some relative ends up terminally ill in the hospital (I lost three that way), or we see other family members going down a path that you know is not good for them. I have Christian friends going through some pain from a dating relationship that broke up. I was praying about a difficult situation and I heard this scripture last night:
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Isaiah 59:1
….notice with the winds and waves disturbed Jesus disciples in the boat and they woke Jesus asking him “if he cared that they perish.” (Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Mark 4:38). Maybe subconsciously we think that God is not listening or cares because of the winds and waves of life?
When we go through pain and grief whether it is due to job loss, death, relationship breakups, finances our soul is disturbed. Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. I like the way David takes control over his soul and tells it to be still (Psalm 46:10). He also told his soul to “hope in the Lord.”
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope Psalm 130:5
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20
I like this song which is combination of be still my soul and what a friend we have in Jesus. In losing my best friend in life, I know Jesus is my friend. I heard that the reason that the Father has not told Jesus when he is coming back to earth is because Jesus would tell his friends.
I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you John 15:15
Be Still My Soul by Selah:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zHn4QSH-8
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