God is so much bigger – so much kinder – than we know. His grace is so much deeper. His love so much broader.
Often, we feel like we are floating along, adrift, longing to feel the warmth of the breeze His movement. But the gentle winds don’t come and we feel stagnant in the wide open aloneness of life.
I think we have all felt this way at one time or another, but in seasons of great struggle, it can be a daily battle to stay afloat emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. Our clients know this daily ebb and flow, and I feel a consistent burden to communicate to them the truth of the consistent and mighty presence of God.
Asking for help is incredibly difficult. Humbling. Depending on the circumstances, it can even be degrading at times. How I long for every precious one who enters the doors of We Care to know, to experience, nothing but dignity and warm affection. I am convicted that it is our job to represent Jesus in this place, and I want nothing more than to communicate His heart for those He so loves. And how He loves the poor!
“If anyone has material possession and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” 1 John 3:17
The way we treat the poor matters. Hundreds of verses attest to the truth that it matters – matters deeply – to God. Many of the harshest rebukes come to those who do not see to the needs of the poor; it’s even one of God’s chief complaints against Sodom. Over and over, we read promises of blessing for our love and reproof for our inattention to the vulnerable.
In addition to the act of giving, we are also bound to the act of loving. The two are often steady companions, but it is possible to give without love. It is near impossible to love without giving.
Loving is the much more difficult task – it requires us to suspend judgment, reproof, even advice at times. God meets us right we are and loves us there, and we are compelled to do the same. He does this so very well! Coasting under us, buoying us up, propelling us along, whether we know it is Him or not. God is ever present, and we are called to mirror the same for others in need.
We need to know that for those in need, feeling adrift is not the worst of it. Isolation is. History attests that humans can withstand almost anything but introduce isolation, and capacity severely shrinks. The beautiful in that truth is that God draws close to us and never allows us to truly be alone. But that is hard to feel, hard to experience, harder still to trust. What if we could mirror His presence and thereby mirror Him to a hurting world? Isn’t that really what we’re here for?
The next time you feel like you’re floating, out of touch, searching, worst of all alone, remember that you have a strong presence beneath you. He is there not to harm but to help. And perhaps the more we know this truth for ourselves, the more we will communicate it those around us in need. May it be, Lord, may it ever be.