Encouraging Words

This was something I read yesterday as part of a Bible Study on the YouVersion app and I just really love it. I love the phrase "we show love to show God." and the part about making awkward eye contact to see the hurt in other people's eyes. It's so simple to make a difference in someone's life but so much easier to stay in our comfort zones. Try to find someone today and this weekend and offer a smile or an encouraging words, invite them to church or for coffee. Take the chance to forget your own hurts by healing someone else's.

Threads of People (Part 2)

It is our turn to be Jesus to this world. We exist for God and for those who need God. Within the church, we use our gifts to build up and equip the body. Outside of the church, we show love to show God.

Next time you are in a public space, be awkward and look in people’s eyes. People, nearly every one of them, are hurting, even if they don’t say it. And we hold armfuls of their cure. We get God, and we get to give God away; it is for our joy. I am never more content than when I am meeting need. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
 Luke 5:32

In the movie Amazing Grace, William Pitt’s character races barefoot through a field with William Wilberforce and says to him “Why is it you only feel the thorns in your feet when you stop running?” When we run for God and for people, we forget for just a moment about ourselves, and it feels amazing. Nothing makes a soul sicker than too much time given to itself.

So who needs God around you?

Pray.
Pursue them.
Ask them great questions.
Share your struggles and your God.
Dream of ways you can meet their needs.

There will be people you know who need you. But also seek out relationships with people outside your circles. Some of my favorite moments in my life have happened as I have stepped out of my comfort zone. Like taking some women from a local halfway house out to bowl with some of my friends. I remember sitting in a bowling alley with a woman just out of prison who exuded more joy than I remember ever feeling in my life. Her joy and perspective changed me-and I needed to be changed. God’s economy makes beautiful exchanges: as we give, we grow.

Seek the uncomfortable. Life is short, and it is worth the risk. You do not risk like a fool; you are wisely investing in the only two things that will not die: God and people. No better reason to make piddling a thing of the past.

Respond:

Prayerfully create a list of five names of people who need you. How can you begin to invest more in these people?

What are some practical ways you can keep all your time from going to casual friendships?

Adapted from Restless Bible Study Guide by Jennie Allen