We welcome you back for another podcast of Struggling Well, and we've been centering in on the difficult difficulties of life that we all face that we as a family have been going through. But one of the things, Suzi, that I'm drawn to is the fact that we have this incredible gift from God called the body of Christ. the church has the ability to be a community to people who in all situations, but particularly to people who are in need. And I think it's a beautiful picture, but it sometimes is a daunting picture to people because they don't know how to reach out, particularly when people are in deep need.
haven't you been in that place where someone has experienced a catastrophe, a tragedy, something, and you don't know what to say? how many times have you been on a receiving line at a funeral home and you're so awkward and you think, "Oh my gosh, what can I say? There's nothing I can say that will make any difference." And truthfully, there's not a whole lot that we can say. way outside of scripture that does change much. But what we've experienced over the last few weeks has been has answered my question I think in a new way where when we go what God why aren't you here? Why didn't you show up? And one of our daughters was asking that question last week like why doesn't God show up? And she was on her way to a friend's house who was going to who had gathered some people to pray over her and pray over our family. family. And it hit me that God did show up, that he showed up in each one of those girls that gathered in that room to pray, that they became the light the in a dark place for her. and we have been astounded by Well, well, I'm stumbling around here. Forgive me. But you know how I think I said for last week that I wish God would show his face. and I would love it if he would, but he has he's shown up in people that have shown up at our door unannounced, just rang the doorbell and showed up. He has shown up in the hundreds of messages that we've received from people and it that's been amazing. I'm you know, I'm really not speechless very often, but I am stumbling around this morning because I don't have adequate words. to reflect and somehow convey to you as you listen that if you just show up for somebody and that phrase we've used that a lot show up but if you're just there you will be an emissary for God the father the son and the holy spirit you will be I promise you because I've received that and as I've looked into the faces of people that are just sitting there sometimes sharing scripture sometimes not just sitting there with us it has been it's answered my question God does show up you just have to see him and look for him
yeah I think another way to describe it in when I'll tell you when it became real to me it is giving people the gift of presence just as Suzi said just showing up I was on a missions trip to the east in a large eastern country. And we were we had traveled obviously from America to this place. It was a long flight and we were meeting some church leaders in a t-room and our host said, "These are men who have been imprisoned for their faith. They've spent time in some of the worst conditions you can think of." And They've traveled 11 hours by train to be here to meet you. And my mind started spinning because I'm thinking, what do you what do you mean they traveled 11 hours just to meet me? And this host said, they're just overwhelmed by your willingness to come and the gift of your presence. And you talk about being humbled.
What these pastors had gone through for their faith, I have never experienced or close to that and that they would get on a train and travel 11 hours to meet a guy from the United States who is a nobody. but it was the gift of presence
and sometimes that's all you have to offer. But that's huge in people's lives that you show up and I just am amazed when the body of Christ responds to situations where they can be the body of Christ. and they can offer encouragement. They can, as Paul says in Galatians, bear one another's burdens
and it lightens the burdens and also there are times when you can rejoice together with somebody else over what God has done in a positive way. h having said that, I want to direct our attention just to those who may be listening who are pastors or pastors wives, those who are in leadership who are called upon to show up and show up into situations that are difficult ones and hard ones and sometimes your tank just runs dry and you can't offer anything to anybody and to you take comfort in the fact that God doesn't require that of you. We've made it that way and we've said that's what has to happen. The pastor needs to be there in those difficult situations and that's True, but there are times when you just don't have the strength to do it. And give yourself permission to not have to do it.
And there are times when you as a person of influence, a pastoral family, elder, whatever in leadership at the bank where you work or whatever, when you're going through the valley of the shadow of death and you are experienced such a dark night of your soul and you've got nothing And I remember back a number of years ago when I got a diagnosis and a sweet young gal came to visit me and the whole time she was there I was spouting Bible verses and you know just talk talking to her about how God was so good and everything. All true. All true. But I was less than empty at that point. And as she was walking out the door she said to me, "Thank you so much for ministering to me. And when she was safely in her car, I fell on the floor. Literally, I fell on the floor and I cried out to God, "What have I done?" It's not that the girl didn't need encouragement, but I didn't take anything from her. I didn't receive anything she came to bring me because I thought I had to fulfill this role as Jimmy's wife, as a pastor's wife, that I had to be something and I had nothing to give. And right now. doing this podcast is a stretch. and we're only doing it because we feel strongly about struggling and struggling well and because God's word has bolstered us up and because we have people on our left arm and our right arm holding us up. But when you're in that place as a leader of any sort of any kind where people look to you for strength and you influence their lives and you go through a dark time, I wonder if the best thing you could show them is that it is okay to let yourself be embraced by Jesus in a way that it that you have nothing to give but that you can receive.
Yeah. It's giving yourself permission to be real. And that's where I think we at many times don't do ourselves much of a favor when we tried to be strong in every situation and we try to have the answer for everything. It's in our weakness that he is made strong.
Mhm.
And to be honest and to be real and to be vulnerable with where you're at, I think draws people to the real source of all of our strength, who is Christ. And so I would encourage you to h take that vulnerable position of being real. And when you have nothing to give, you have nothing to give but you point people to the one who is our strength no matter what the situation may be and that's Christ himself and so we want to encourage you along those lines this day that you take everything to him that you struggle well by realizing that ultimately the strength I need it comes from community but ultimately it comes through Christ and we encourage you to look to him today to be your strength Thanks for joining us. To learn more about the Struggling Well podcast, visit tandemspirituality. com.