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I was recently faced with a difficult situation.  Have you ever had a friend or loved one be in a situation where they are facing a hard decision, difficult journey or health crisis OR maybe all three at the same time? As my friend listed all the daunting details of her approaching season of hardship, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed myself.  My mind raced with “How will she do this?”  “How will this turn out?”  and “How can little ole me help her with ALL this?”  I had a lot of thoughts on ways to help, but they were equally intimidating.  I quickly found myself uncomfortably and “inconveniently” burdened.  Woe is me! (pathetic, I know!)

So, I just became paralyzed.  Can you relate?

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.                                        1 Corinthians 13:2

Has it ever seemed easier to just do nothing when you don’t know what to do or how to help?  I know I was feeling that way. Maybe she won’t notice my absence during this period of time.  Perhaps I can blame it on my busy schedule?

So, I began to pray a simple prayer for wisdom in this situation.  Almost immediately the Holy Spirit prompted me to do one simple thing – ask her what she needs from me.  While I was stressing myself out trying to come up with solutions for all the challenges of her predicament, I realized that God had not called me to fix her everything.    Turns out my friend only wanted two things from me – prayer, and to help sponsor her Compassion child.

Her answer shamed me.  

While I am pitying myself over the hardship she is facing, she is more concerned about someone else.

Her answered also freed me.  I am not saying I was set free by being given a simple task, like prayer and financial support, but freed because I now know what to do and can proceed with acting on it.  This will forever be my method in offering help to others; thank you Holy Spirit! I don’t have to be THEIR solution; thank you, LORD!  But, I do need to be a willing co-laborer with Christ.  And that, I can do!

 

 

This is just one of the things I experienced from this particular week of prayer journaling.  Feel free to take a further peek inside my prayer closet…I’ve got my #RankandFileLists of favorite hymns, too!