“I Truly Thought No One Cared”
I am not always sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading as I should be – I know that I have missed many opportunities – but it truly is my desire to hear and obey His still, small voice when He speaks. There have been times that the Lord has allowed me to see that my obedience to Him was a blessing and encouragement to someone else. Those times have always left me thankful that I chose to obey and not ignore His promptings. And then there are other times when I never know how my “reaching out” was received…but that’s ok. If we are only reaching out to receive a response then we may need to check our motives.
The girls and I have often found ourselves on the receiving end of acts of kindness or words of encouragement and my, how the Lord has used this to lift our spirits! Some of those times the encourager was totally clueless to the need. Such was the case last fall when the Lord allowed us to attend a ladies conference in Indiana. During a break, a sweet friend came up behind the girls and put her arms around both of them.
I love this picture. It has been a sweet reminder of God’s love for them. Little did this friend know that her simple gesture was actually a balm to two hurting hearts.
She had no idea – but GOD did!
Recently, the Lord impressed me to send out a few texts of encouragement to some friends – some of whom I have not talked to in a good while. I received a variety of responses but one response, in particular, has stayed with me. This one response brought tears to my eyes:
“Sis. Rachel this is truly from the Lord. I was praying & crying at 4 this morning for help. Thank you for your prayers. I truly thought no one cared. Love you sister!”
I had no idea – but GOD did!
The Lord has used the response from this dear, hurting sister to cause me to do some reflecting. How many times have I totally missed an opportunity to encourage someone? How many times have I been totally oblivious to what the Lord would have me do or say…due to my following the Lord from afar? There was a time when David was running for his life and actually hiding out in a cave. That experience is what David is referring to when he said,
“I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.” Psalm 142:4
I wonder, how many times have I left someone feeling like no one cared? We just never know the hurts that others are experiencing, do we? May we strive to remember that just because a friend may say, “It is well” does not necessarily mean “it is well” in her life. Because of this, how very important that we stay in close communion with the Lord – not rushing through our Bible reading and time of praying but rather taking time to “be still” and allowing God to speak to us. How very important that we look for opportunities to reach out. For some of us, this may require coming out of our own “comfort zones” and even turning our focus from our own hurts to the needs of others. I don’t know about you but my hand is raised.
“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24
“…a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Proverbs 15:23