Being My Sister's Keeper - Part III

When a sister comes and shares a crushing weight with us what does it look like to be a vessel of mercy? Sometimes we may need to just sit quietly and listen. If she is sharing a burden she has carried alone for some time she may just need the opportunity to voice her concerns and know that a trusted friend will be with her as she works through the details. Other times we may feel the need to offer advice or words of wise counsel. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening are full of entries that I have gone back to time and again for comfort, encouragement and words to pass on to a friend. Here is a portion of an entry that many have quoted and found to be such a jewel.

"If none of God'saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say 'Still will I trust in the Lord;' when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honor it reflects on the gospel. God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring-that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace."

Every day as your soul feeds on the Word of God and truths expounded in good books, try to keep a list of meaningful words to share with someone in time of need. Our own thoughts may seem inadequate but we can be a vessel of mercy as we channel wise words from others.
~ Brenda Edwards