Maybe you are a father or mother and you want your children to grow up treasuring God above all else.
- Maybe you are a married person who desires to see your marriage thrive instead of seeing it die.
- Maybe you are a church leader and you are not willing to coast.
- Maybe you are a minister and you still have hopes and dreams that are larger than you.
- Maybe you are an ordinary person who wants to live right in the middle of God’s purposes.
What do you need most from the people who surround you?
Think about this one for a minute. Do you need for the people around you to encourage you? Do you need for them to help keep you from becoming either discouraged or distracted? Do you need for them to hold you accountable? Do you need for them to remind you of our wonderful God who desires to see you walk with him regardless of what might be happening on this earth? Do you need friendship? Do you just need someone to be with you through it all?
Again, suppose you had a tough assignment ahead of you. What do you need most from the people around you?
I would say that I need shared experiences, strengths and hopes more so than advice. If someone has gone through a similar situation and they share with me what worked best for them and how that was accomplished, I seem to be more receptive and it seems to be helpful. I also appreciate genuine love, support and concern shown.
There are days I need someone to "spur me on to love and good deeds." (Heb. 10:24)
I need encouragement and discerning ears.
A mentor that is strong enough to walk with you through it so you aren’t walking alone, and who is wise enough to ask God for wisdom so we’ll know how to get through to the other side.
I have needed different things at different times. And often what I think I need is not what I actually need, but rather what I want. So, this is a hard thing to answer. This morning, I needed someone to walk with me and remind me that God has a plan and He is working it out in my life and in the lives of those I love. And that is just what I received! Tomorrow I may need something else.
The challenge comes in being still and sensitive so one can discern what is actually needed by the person in front of me. My friend did that for me today. I pray I will be able to do that for someone else now.
I can answer this based on my recent experience with my mom’s death. In August, I discovered she’d been hiding her breast cancer for 2 years, not seeing a doctor, until at last her body began breaking down. I got on the plane to see her, and ended up staying with her until she died a month later.
I was in shock, processing grief, and doing round-the-clock care with the hospice nurses. My friend Karen called me two or three times a day most days: she prayed, she listened, she asked me questions, she gently redirected me toward Jesus when I started to lose perspective, and once, she even sang an old camp song (badly) because she knew it would make me laugh on a day when I needed a laugh.
I rarely called her during this time. She took the initiative and pursued me the same way God does in order to make sure I didn’t walk this out alone.
Personally, what I need most is people who challenge me but season their challenges with encouragement and love. I am concerned we do not challenge each other enough in the spiritual realm because we are unclear how to encourage them at the same time. Just my thoughts…
I have found that I need the support of my friends and family. I need people to pray for me and remind who I really am. -Brittany
All of the above! But more and more, I’m discovering the power and presence of prayer. I’ve come through some situations in my life where I can’t explain how we made it through with the peace we had other than there was a “feeling” or a “presence” that could only be accounted for by the fact that godly people were praying for us.
Brad, Some of the most important people in my life have done just that.Thanks.
Greg,More and more I am humbled to have someone pray for me. I think, in part, it is because I feel that it is essential to have such people in my life.
Brittany,I really like your last sentence. There is something very special about having people pray for you and remind you of your true identity.Thanks,
Connie,How wonderful it is receive a gift from God and to be grateful for it. Glad you walked with your friend this morning.
Gallagher,I like the way you put this: "…challenges with encouragement and love."
David,So glad you left a comment. I think that many people would echo your need for encouragement.
Lisa,Thanks for your comment. (Apparently it is allowing you to comment again. I have no idea why it would not let you earlier).