I didn't know if any of you get this daily devotion from Ron Hutchcraft
Ministries, but I thought I would send it on so that you all know that God
is there hearing and sending others to hear and cry with you. Hugs and
blessings, Lyn
----- Original Message -----
From: "A Word With You" <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 12:00 AM
Subject: AWWY - "A Shoulder to Cry On" (#5334)
>
> A WORD WITH YOU
> By Ron Hutchcraft
> #5334 - "A Shoulder to Cry On"
> Romans 12:15
>
> Listen to the audio broadcast!
> http://media.gospelcom.net/rhm/sounds/awwy/awwy5334.mp3
>
> When a little child gets home later than they're supposed to - well you
> know that there is going to be on the other end. There's going to be a
> worried and not very happy parent waiting for them. I heard recently about
> a little girl who got home unusually late from school only to find a daddy
> who was not happy at all. He asked the little girl why she was late. She
> said, "Because my friend broke her dolly." Her dad said, "Oh, okay, so you
> stayed with her to fix it?" He didn't expect her gentle little reply, "No,
> Daddy. I stayed with her to help her cry."
>
> I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A
> Shoulder to Cry On."
>
> You may know someone right now who needs a friend like that; someone to
> help them cry. It's part of being a follower of Jesus actually to be that
> kind of friend, that kind of coworker, that kind of person in your family.
>
> Paul talks about this caring, sensitive, unselfish lifestyle in our
> word for today from the Word of God in Romans 12:15. Here's what He says,
> "Rejoice with those who rejoice: mourn with those who mourn." When you're
> rejoicing, you need someone to share your joy. When you're hurting, you
> need someone to share your burden. If you're a Jesus-follower, that's
> supposed to be you for the people you know. Because that's how your Master
> lived His life. He was actually attracted to people who were hurting.
>
> We don't always do this too well, do we? You've probably got a real
> busy life, a full schedule. I know I do. Someone who needs comfort and
> encouragement and who needs time can feel like a - well, an interruption,
> an intrusion, or even a nuisance to be honest. Those feelings in
> themselves are not a problem unless you allow those feelings to give you a
> hard heart, and to make you unresponsive to a need that God has dropped
> into your life. And that's what it is: God is hearing someone's cry, God
> is feeling someone's pain, and God is sending them to one of His children
> to show them His love; one of His children like you.
>
> Which means that we can't be all rigid about our sacred schedules and
> plans and our "to-do" lists. We need this Spirit-led flexibility to stop
> for someone who needs a friend to "help them cry." People are a whole lot
> more important than tasks.
>
> One reason we don't move in next to someone who's hurting is because
> sometimes we don't know what to say. That really doesn't matter. Your job
> is to let them talk, to let them cry, to listen in a way that you can
> identify what that person needs right now, and then to see if you or
> someone you know can help with some of those needs. I've heard of a tribe
> in Africa where they have a wonderful custom. When someone dies, one of
> the elders of the village comes to the grieving family's hut and just sits
> there quietly for a couple of days. He doesn't say anything; he doesn't do
> anything, unless he is asked to. He's just there, and his presence alone
> is comfort. You know, that's not a bad model.
>
> And strangely, what often qualifies you to be a comforter turns out to
> be the hardest things you ever faced in your life. Because you've been the
> one who cried, you can help someone else who is. Or as Paul says, "God
> comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any
> trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God" (2
> Corinthians 1:4). So would you be like your Savior? Stop for people who
> need you, and be there to help them cry.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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