What I am about to share is very personal, however I do so as a means of encouragement and hopefully this can serve as a source of inspiration to be salt and light!

Sometimes we get so bogged down with our own lives and so focused on ourselves, pursuing our goals and plans that we can easily lose sight of the things that matter.  Living in a culture where productivity is the measure of success and busyness is worn as a badge of honor, we often pursue our plans at the expense of relationships, and by relationships I mean people.  Whether it is folks at work, church, the gym, neighbors, friends or family, most get none of our time, a few get quality time on occasion and one person might get quality time on a consistent basis.  Not that we are consciously pushing people away, that is just the price of chasing our dreams.  This is something that I have been guilty of quite often and the Lord showed this to me in a very unpleasant way.  There was a period of time in which I had an opportunity to go deeper, but I was disengaged, not present in the moment, preoccupied with what I was going to do at some future time.  This is something that God had convicted me of, as my focus on achieving my plans was preventing me from getting engaged with people seeking hope.  We are called to be prepared to chat with folks and share with them our hope (1Peter 3:15) as the Lord has called us as harvest workers, sometimes to sow and other times to reap (John 4:36-37).  As this conviction grew, it did not take long to realize that there were quite a few people who had come into my life who were hurting, hopeless and fearful.  Some examples of the conversations that God gave to me: two men who were thinking of leaving their wife and kids, a man whose wife committed adultery, a woman whose husband left for a younger woman, a homeless man who was put out by his wife, a man who lost his wife to cancer and a friend who would tell me she was thinking of ending her life.  Not conversations that I was eager to have, but God was showing me that I was to be a part of each persons faith journey.  That recognition would begin to slowly change my heart to weep with those who weep.  There is a reason that the Holy Spirit is called our Comforter, our Counselor and our Helper, because that is exactly what He does in us and through us to provide comfort in time of need.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.”

– 2Corinthians 1:3-5

This passage opened my eyes to what had been happening in my life.  As I began to reflect and pray, I realized that God had been healing me by allowing me to be a comfort to others through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  During a dark period of my life, God had brought me into circumstances to minister to others and be a source of comfort for the testing of my faith at a time when things did not make sense.  This part of my journey was really a time of solitude in which I craved time alone with God, yearning to get home from work or wherever to read, pray and be quiet.  Despite that, I continued to find myself in situations with folks that needed to talk, needed to vent, needed to cry, needed hope and really just needed to be loved.  This was hard at first because the outer man was content to ignore, be short or walk away, but the resolve of the inner man kept me engaged to the point of breaking with people and for people.  Early one morning last August, I would sit down on a desolate sandy beach and it was like a fog had lifted and I could clearly see the Lords hand at work.  That was the first time I would tearfully rejoice and thank God for the fellowship of His sufferings.  As I reflected on many situations, the truth of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 was magnified as I realized that it was God who sustained me to persevere and renew my hope, and it was God who poured out His love in me through the Holy Spirit to sustain me in afflictions (Romans 5:3-5).

That same week last August, I met a man who is actually very well known in the financial world, even had a movie made about him.  He had lost his wife to cancer a few years back and he shared with me how God has used that situation to gain perspective, grow and help others.  As I reflected on his words and the encouragement that I received, the words of 2 Corinthians came to mind and I recalled the many situations that God had placed me in during my time of healing.  I was unaware of what was happening at the time, but I came to realize that there is tremendous healing power in loving, caring and praying for others.  I did not necessarily have similar experiences as all of these folks, but more importantly I do have the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, ears to hear, eyes to connect, arms to hug and a mouth to pray.

⁷¹ It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
⁷³ Your hands made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments. ⁷⁵ I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. ⁷⁶ O may Your lovingkindness comfort me, According to Your word to Your servant.

Psalm 119:71, 73, 75-76

God was showing me how my hope in Him would be used to help people and in some cases, find their own hope!  For the first time, I saw purpose in everything I had gone through and the peace of Christ had transcended my circumstances.  Though I continue to gain perspective, I have peace that God is orchestrating my life for His purpose and His glory.  As God keeps doing stuff, I am careful not to create situations, but mindful of when they are unfolding and often excited to see what He is going to do next!