Walking with the broken
It can be so immensely difficult to watch a friend go through a really tough time. We have all been there, listening and watching tears be shed, seeing the hurt in our friend’s eyes as they share something really difficult that’s happened to them. Whether it is stress, loneliness, bullying, or relationship troubles, it is never easy supporting a friend who’s hurting. For one thing, we can often feel panicked: “What do I say?” “What should I do?”
But so often Jesus is calling us as Christians to not necessarily advise or even do something (depending on what the situation is). It may be that Jesus is calling you to simply listen to your friend and affirm how they are feeling i.e. “That sounds really hard” or “It’s totally understandable to feel like that”. He may also be calling you to simply love them, to not just be Jesus’ hands and feet but His ears and heart as well! When I am about to meet up with a friend who I know might be struggling, I ask Jesus to give me wisdom, and He always does! After all, the Bible tells us ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you’ (James 1:5 NIV). God does not say He might give it, He says He WILL give it to us. How amazing is that!?
Another problem that may arise (I know it often does for me) is that we can empathise so strongly with our friend that we begin to take on the weight of their problems ourselves, carrying their hurt, and in turn are left feeling overwhelmed. Having a caring heart is a wonderful thing – Jesus longs for us to love our friends the way that He does but He does not want us to feel burdened with their problems. Jesus tells us he came to give us “life – life in ALL its fullness” (John 10:10 NIV). He wants to set us free from all our burdens.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, I really encourage you to invite Jesus in, to imagine all the burdens of your friend’s problems and then yourself visually placing them, like a big stone, into Jesus’ open hands. “Come to me all who have heavy burdens and I WILL give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NIV). Allow Jesus to take those burdens today.
Jesus has such a heart for friendship. He consistently reached out to the lonely and the lost. He loves the way you care for your friends and He loves it when you pray for them. Each time you feel worried about your friend, try turning that worry into a prayer for them. I know how hard that will be at first, it is often our first instinct to worry, but prayer makes such a difference and worry does not. The more you pray, the more you will have a heart like Jesus.
