During the holidays we see
family members and friends who are hurting. 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 and 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. But we can’t help them
all. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few” (v.37).
He told the people to pray that God would send other laborers into His
harvest (v.38).
Then Jesus showed them how it would be done in the very next verse: 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 was looking with love
and compassion on 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.
People respond favorably to different people. You don’t respond to
everyone in the same way and neither 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 so 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! They will have “power against
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all
manner of disease” (Matt 10:1). That’s spectacular!
So don’t be discouraged this holiday season if you feel snubbed or somewhat
helpless. 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 even more. And God ALWAYS
answers this prayer.
Love, Carolyn
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