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This morning, I found myself thinking about how God interacts with me through the Holy Spirit, prodding me toward a life worth living. My mind slowly turned to why He puts certain people in my life\u2014often people with problems.<\/p>\nThis morning, I found myself thinking about how God interacts with me through the Holy Spirit, prodding me toward a life worth living. My mind slowly turned to why He puts certain people in my life\u2014often people with problems.<\/p>\n
I like problem-solving, but I am a sticks-and-bricks kind of guy, not a colors-and-hues kind of guy. Give me something tangible, something I can take apart, analyze, repair, or rebuild, and I am comfortable. People are different. The opportunities God presents are not always the people or problems I understand or feel equipped to handle. Sometimes, to be truthful, I would prefer not to deal with them at all.<\/p>\n
Matthew 25:35\u201336, <\/strong>\u201cFor I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Some problems I just don\u2019t get, they seem petty and small. Some people I don\u2019t understand because their problem never changes; they just can\u2019t seem to act. Most are self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Some situations are so painful I wish I didn\u2019t know. But God sends them my way.<\/p>\n Proverbs 3:27<\/strong>, \u201cDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.\u201d<\/p>\n I know I do not possess a vast reservoir of knowledge or a special talent for helping people. I\u2019m more of a worker bee. I know how to show up, work, solve what I can solve, and keep going. But I have also learned that God does not put people in my life so I can show off what I know. He puts them there so He can show me what He can do. That works well for me because I\u2019m not on stage; he is.<\/p>\n 1 John 3:17,<\/strong> \u201cBut if anyone has the world\u2019s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God\u2019s love abide in him?\u201d<\/p>\n The reality is that God places people in our lives as part of His plan for us. Through them, He shows us how He works. God provides us with answers to questions we have not yet asked. Through them, we witness amazing mini-miracles that remind us of what He is doing through and in us. By serving others, we get to go backstage to see how He performs.<\/p>\n Hebrews 6:10,<\/strong> \u201cGod is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them\u201d<\/p>\n God uses these moments to help us see how and when He works. When we are in the depths of our problems, it is hard to be objective, to step outside ourselves and survey the landscape before acting. We find it hard to imagine a solution bigger than our wants.\u00a0 But God does.<\/p>\n Matthew 25:40,<\/strong> \u201cAnd the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n In my life, God uses me to help others and to teach me how He helps me. The scripture that feeds their soul feeds mine. The intersection of their experience with mine is not just me being part of God\u2019s plan for them; it is them being part of His plan for me. I\u2019m not there to be a lifesaver or a lifeboat. I am on the sinking ship with them, watching God save us both.<\/p>\nOpportunities<\/h2>\n
Solutions<\/h2>\n