Yesterday I received a call from my real good friend and he told me that his wife wasn't expected to live out the night. She had been battling cancer and her body was finally too tired to fight anymore. He told me that he and his wife always appreciated the calls checking up on them and seeing if I could do anything for them. He expressed his gratitude and I told him I wish I could do more than just pray. I was reminded that prayer isn't the last resort or just another "little thing" we can do when we have no other options. Prayer is the greatest thing we can do for anyone.
We often want so desperately to help people who are hurting and facing tragedy or a crisis. We try to think about ways to help and things to share with them. The problem often lies in we think we are comforting folks with our "great words of wisdom" when in fact most of the time we are not really doing very much for them. Most people who are going through a tragedy can't listen anyway so our words fall on deaf ears. It is not because they don't care but because they are not in a position to hear because of their grief. What they really need is to know we care about them and are there for them should they need us. I was taught by my pastoral ministry professor a very important pastoral tool. That tool is the "ministry of presence". They simply appreciate when people just sit with them and give them a shoulder to cry on or an arm to lean on during the rough times. I have experienced this from both the giving and the receiving side. I understand the gratitude you feel when people are there for you when you are hurting. I also know how I feel when people thank me for just being a friend and sitting with them as they go through the experience. If you want to know how not to minister to someone who is hurting , read Job's account of his trials. Satan was allowed by God to test him and eventually took everything from Job but his life. His three friends did what a lot of people do when people suffer. They assume the one suffering deserves it. His friends all did until God set them straight. We should never presuppose that we understand why things happen. We generally have no clue. I prefer to let God be God and then sit back and marvel at what He does and not be too concerned with the why's.
As we go through life we all face hurts and loss of loved ones. We face these things because of sin in the world. We will continue doing so until Christ returns to take his people home and we leave this earth. In the meantime we need to remember that we need to love and encourage one another as we go through life. Just remember that life is fragile and we need to handle it with Prayer!
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