John 11:4: “When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (NIV).
Cancer…heart disease…chronic fatigue syndrome…adultery…unemployment…homelessness…poverty…death of a loved one…miscarriage…infertility…mental health issues. Not one of these would be considered a blessing to the sufferer or their family members. All of these issues are just symptoms of a result of sin in this world, not the original plan of the Creator of the universe.
They remind me of an ugly package that carries something beautiful inside. God hurts alongside us when the packages we’re presented with in life sometimes are broken, bruised, or damaged. However, God loves us too much to allow it to stop there. He is the God of second chances, a Healer of all things, and He can take the brokenness in our lives and help us use that to minister to others who are also experiencing pain and suffering. Sometimes God calls us to help others while we’re still walking the road ourselves; other times it’s after we have traveled the path that we are more equipped to deal with others burdens when ours have had a chance to begin healing. Whichever path we choose, we can help lift the burden for someone else.
God can heal us from the effects of those devastating events (He’s not going to force Himself on us, but is waiting for us to ask Him to begin the healing process). He then shows us how we can best be used of Him to help others in return. And what a beautiful cycle that is.
This holiday season – can you think of one area in your life that is battered, bruised, or damaged in some way? What is one thing you can do, taking the knowledge and pain that you have experienced from dealing with a specific area in your life, to turn and bless someone else? For instance, if you are a cancer survivor, could you find someone who is battling that horrible disease and cook them a meal, offer to babysit, or volunteer to shop for Christmas gifts for their family? What if you know the sting of unemployment and pain of poverty firsthand? If you are now more stable financially, what is one way that you could bless another family who is in the midst of suffering from the devastation of losing their job and possibly losing hope?
People who have walked in the shoes of others are more able to empathize, not just sympathize, with the path they walk on. And, that’s what God calls us to do. He wants us to be His hands and feet to those around us, and who better to do that for then those we can most identify with? Think of how meaningful your blessing would be to someone dealing with something you have experienced firsthand.
That’s just one way God is able to take something that was meant for evil by the evil one, which caused your life to be battered and bruised, and instead turn it into a blessing for someone else. The great thing is…you are usually blessed in the process. I love how God works!
Cheri,
There are so many dead things in my life that with Jesus (the vine) have been brought back to life. Every area of my life was dying — Relationships, Health and Finances. BUT JESUS turned my divorce into a happy marriage, my debt into financial freedom, and my sickness into health. Praise God!
Have a Victorious Day!
Marianne
Praising God with you! You are such an encouragement to others because of the victory you have been given in Christ!
Hello, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one
and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam responses?
If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can suggest?
I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any help is very much appreciated.
Welcome to the community and thanks for commenting. I use wordpress and I have set up that I have to approve each “new” response which I think weeds out the spam. I hope that answer helps. Otherwise, it’s something built into wordpress that does it for me.
Excellent blog you have here but I was wanting
to know if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics talked about here?
I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get feedback from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Kudos!
Off the top of my head I don’t, but I can post some information here if I find anything. Thanks for commenting and asking about a forum. I hope to see you around on a regular basis.
In Him,
Cheri 🙂
Thanks for some other fantastic post. The place else may anyone get that type of info in such an
ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m on the look for such info.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I look forward to hearing from you again.
In Him,
Cheri 🙂
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the page layout of your site?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with
it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two images.
Maybe you could space it out better?
Thank you for that suggestion. I actually post my blog on my Facebook author site and use a picture with each post. You can check that out at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/cheri-Swalwell/220762911373306 But I like your idea and will have to start posting pictures here too. Thank you again for your great idea.
In Him,
Cheri 🙂