Skip to main content

Be Sympathetic

Hebrews 4: 15-16 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in out time of need."

      I have been going through a difficult time. That is one reason the blog entries have been somewhat sporadic. There are days I don't want to write and there are others that I don't feel that I could come up with a positive or uplifting word to say. It has been hard.
     We all go through seasons of life where things are just not as they should be. During those times, we need someone who can come along side us and support us in our difficulty. I am not talking about condoning sin, or not holding someone accountable for a wrongdoing. I am simply talking about being there in the hard times.
     Recently, I confessed to someone that I had been having just such a time. I expected support and love and understanding and, instead, I felt a little like I got a sermon. Almost, a "man up and be more like Jesus" kind of spiel. In her own way, I think she was trying to hold me accountable for an action and give me a solution to my problem, but what I needed most at that moment was a friend.
    Imagine my relief, a few days later when I spoke to another woman in my church about the things I have been experiencing and she said, "I know exactly how you feel, I have been there. It will be my privilege to pray for you." And do you know, the next week, I felt so much better!
    In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon tells us there is a time for everything. A time to embrace and a time to refrain (v5), a time to be silent and a time to speak (v7). We need to ask the Holy Spirit for discernment when interacting with those around us for which way we need to respond. We need to respond with His direction and in His time. We also need to think about what the other person is going through and put ourselves in their place.
     Jesus is sympathetic. He knows what we go through. He was human. And because He knows, He is able to extend grace and mercy to those who ask Him for it. As His hands and feet on earth, should we do anything less?

"Dear Jesus, Help me not to speak rashly or harshly or without thinking to those around me. Help me to respond to every encounter with You in mind. Help me to extend Your grace and Your  mercy to those I interact with daily. Help me to be sympathetic."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving Your Nets

Matthew 4:20 "AT ONCE they left their nets and followed Him (Jesus)."  Matthew 4:20 records the response of Peter and Andrew to the call of Jesus to be his disciples. They literally walked off the job and into ministry. We have the advantage of viewing this story with hindsight and the scripture, but Peter and Andrew were in the moment... Jesus was a hometown boy, a carpenter. He hadn't really started his ministry, yet. Surely he had been preaching in the area and the disciples knew what kind of man he was. But still... Fishing was a major industry around the Sea of Galilee and most fisherman belonged to family owned business. Can you imagine old Zebedee's face when somebody walked in his "office" and told him Peter and Andrew had taken off with the new preacher? How do you go home and tell your wife that you walked off the job for a ministry with no pay? How do you feed your kids? Their security was gone. Their income was gone. Possibly a few r

Inspired by Obedience

And He said to all, "If any would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:20 - 21 I have only known in my life one person that truly personified those verses. In 2009, one of our youngest, most energetic ministers was taken to the hospital emergency room with chest pain. He was healthy and athletic. He taught PE at our local high school. This trip to the hospital began a journey that would last the next three years and affect more lives than anyone could have ever anticipated. Mike Storter was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Mike immediately began treatments for his disease and for a short period during these years was considered cancer-free. It was a

Mono Diaries Lesson 1: Be Careful What You Pray For

I haven’t written in a long time and decided I would make the most of my time of confinement. The first quarter of two thousand eighteen has been a difficult and stressful one for my husband and I.  Dealing with issues related to aging parents has put a strain on us that we could not have anticipated. Wanting to do what is best for them, still do what is best for us, dealing with dementia, hospitalizations, nursing homes has been enough to create a level of stress that has taken a toll. On a particular week when we had been running back and forth to facilities, doctor appointments, and just trying to keep up with day to day responsibilities, I remember venting to the Lord in my quiet time and praying what I have come to see as a fateful prayer. I remember, probably a little resentfully, telling God that I wished I could have a day to just do nothing and read a book..... As of today, I have had FIFTEEN days to do nothing and read books. As a matter of fact, it is being encour