2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” This episode talks about how we are never alone when we are going through our struggles. It talks about the lies the enemy tells us and then how God wants us to help others as He helps us. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Helping Others Climb Their Mountain
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
This verse reminds me of a saying I heard several years ago that brought me comfort. At the time there was a lot going on in my family. Everything was so hard and I didn’t understand why it was happening. Why I needed to be going through all of that with my boys or with my marriage. I read a book called Courage by Debbie Ford. Or at least I think that is the book I found it in. The quote was something to the effect of, “Maybe you have been given this mountain to climb so that you can show others it can be done.” I don’t know what it was about this quote that helped me feel better. Maybe it was because I felt it gave my suffering a purpose. I was not longer wondering why I was going through all this. I knew I was going through it so that I could help others through it later on.
This is what this verse is telling us. God is with us in our troubles and He comforts us. God will be there for you through everything. There is nothing you have to go through a lone. He is always there for you, not only to comfort you, but to strengthen you, to help you through it. I love how this verse starts with reminding us that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of all comfort. God plays so many rolls in our lives and it is important to remember that He is not only there to solve our problems, fix things for us, heal us and our loved ones. He also wants to be there to comfort us. He understands what we are going through and has compassion on us.
Do you ever feel like you are alone in your situation? Like no one understands what you are going through? Does this feeling cause you to hide your situation or make you want to not talk about it because no one would understand anyway? Do you feel like if people knew what you were going through then they would judge you or think you were in the wrong? I bet the answer for many of us is yes. Do you know why I think that? I have talked to a lot of people over the years and most of them felt alone. Most of them felt so alone and did not talk about their situation because they felt ashamed or they felt like they would be judged. If this is you, I assure you, you are not the only one that is going through what you are going through. I also know that it is normal to feel like you are.
Do you know who wants you to feel like you are alone? The enemy does. He is a liar and he tries to convince us that we are alone because we are not as powerful when we are alone. When you are alone and not talking about your situation to anyone then he can come into your situation and twist everything around and make things worse than they really are. He can tell you that things will never change, he will tell you that you shouldn’t bother people with your problems. He will tell you that you are annoying when you talk about your problems to others and then they won’t want to be around you. He will tell you that you are an inconvenience if you ask for help. He will tell you that other people don’t have time for you. He will tell you that if you tell others they will judge you, then they won’t like you anymore. He will tell you all sorts of things to keep you feeling alone. He will take any chance of joy or hope away from you. It is so important that you hear me right now, HE IS A LIAR! HE IS A LIAR!
You are not alone, there are many people right now that are going through the same thing and there are many people that have already gone through it. Find someone who had been where you are and has made it through. I promise you there is a way through whatever you are facing. There are many people that have survived it and can give you a roadmap to get through it to. Find a community. I guarantee there is one out there. If it is parenting, dealing with teens and depression, behavior issues, marriage, success in career, whatever it is, there is a community of people out there that is also struggling with the very thing you are struggling with. If you don’t believe me, send me a message with your struggle and I will find you the support community you are looking for. The enemy wants us to be alone, let’s not give him that satisfaction.
Let’s address some of the other things he says. You would be bothering others with your problems. This is not true. People that truly love you want to know when you are hurting and want to help when they can. Even if they can’t help, just saying your problems out loud to another person helps. I once heard this technique, I forgot where I heard it, but these two people would partner up and they would call each other once a week and vent about what was going on their lives. The other person would just listen, not give any advice, just listen. Then the next person would go, again, it was not a time to give advice, just a chance to say it all out loud to another person. Besides not advice, the other rule was that it was a completely judgement free zone. If you are keeping your situation to yourself, I promise you talking about it out loud will help immensely. Give it a try. If you don’t feel you could possible trust anyone, then sit in your car and talk out loud to yourself and to God. If you don’t feel better then send me a message and let me know because I have never heard of anyone that didn’t feel better after getting it all out.
Let’s talk about when the enemy tells you things will never change. He tells you that you will be in this situation forever. This is not true. I don’t know what your circumstance is. Maybe it is something that will be a life long issue. For instance, you have a illness that is not curable, or you are a caretaker to a family member who’s situation is not going to improve. Even if this is the case, that does not mean that there is no hope. Even if you do not believe that a miraculous healing could occur, things can still get better. If your situation can not change, you can change how you are showing up in that situation. For instance, maybe you are worn out and just so tired. You can learn how to practice self care. You can ask for help. You can trust others because as much as we know that we are the only ones that can do things right, that is not true either. That is another lie from the enemy to get you feeling like you have to do it all. That way you are tired and worn out and can’t fight off his attacks. If you don’t know of anyone that can help, ask at your local church, search online for volunteer organizations that help care takers. I promise there are people out there that want to help. Even if your situation can’t change, you change how you show up to that situation, please remember that. You have so much more power than the enemy wants you to think you do. If you are feeling like your situation is hopeless and you see no way things will change, please send me an email at catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com and I can give you more specific ways for your specific circumstance. I can’t go into much detail in this short 10 minute episode, but I feel very strongly that everyone can change their circumstances or how they show up to them. I believe that no one is stuck in a hopeless situation.
I know this one may be a bit long, and I am sorry for that. I just get so worked up when I think of how much the enemy is attacking us and making people feel like they are alone. This is why I think this verse is a great reminder that God shows us compassion and comfort, and we need to make sure that compassion and comfort doesn’t stop with us. Is there someone in your life that you know is suffering? Have you been afraid to say anything because you feel it is none of your business, or what stops me sometimes is being worried they will not want my help. We need to be brave and bold and ask anyway. Maybe they will reject your help, maybe they aren’t ready to admit they need help or ready to accept it. Either way, you will be grateful that you at least asked, and they will be too, even if they can’t show it. Anytime I have been bold enough to step out and ask if someone was ok, or if they needed help, they were always grateful. We are all social creatures. We need community. God did not create us to be alone. If you are in a place to help others, please be bold and brave enough to offer. If you are feeling alone, hopeless, helpless, or overwhelmed, please be bold and brave enough to reach out for help. I am going to say these next four sentences because I know someone listening to this needs to hear them. YOU ARE LOVED! YOU ARE ENOUGH! YOU ARE STRONG! YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to see the enemies lies for what they are. Help shine a light on any lies in our lives that we might be believing. Help us to know that our situation is never hopeless because with you all things are possible. Help us all to be bold and brave and to reach out and ask for help when we need it, or accept the help that is offered. Help us also be bold and brave enough to offer help wherever we can. Lord, we are so thankful for all the compassion and comfort that you give to us. Please help us to pass that on to others. Lord, help us to love others as you love us. You are truly amazing and we love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you know someone that is struggling maybe send them this episode so they can see that they are not alone and that people want to help them. I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow. Have a blessed day!