Camping in the Cemetery

Yesterday a woman came in the office needing help. She spent about half an hour telling me about the crises that had occurred in her life. She and her husband and middle school daughter have no place to live; I was overwhelmed by all the emotions and bitterness and chaos in her life, and really had no idea how to help. This morning in my prayer journal I asked God how to help people who seem to be continuously struggling and always needing help. I've been reading Seizing Your Divine Moment by Erwin Raphael McManus. As I read the last pages during my lunch break, he addressed a new thought in the book:

Even churches are overwhelmed by the pain and brokenness they face in their communities. From clergy to psychotherapists, we are a society struggling to discover how to help people get better. . . . When the church moves with God, the broken are drawn to God and find healing within the movement. When we, like Christ, begin to serve others in his name, we discover that our needs have been met in the process. . . . Each of us has the power to create environments where the broken are made whole. Divine moments are not self-serving gifts from God; they are invitations from God to give yourself away in serving. For those who choose this path, they find their greatest joy when they bring greatness out of others. . . . It would be easy to conclude that the world would be a better place if it wasn't for people, that the church would be a better place if it wasn't for Christians. You might make the mistake to think that your journey with God would find its greatest fulfillment if you could remove the human obstacle--people. Yet the journey is lived out in the context of relationships, and a significant part of the adventure is the way that God uses you in the lives of others. God longs to use you to bring hope to those who have essentially gone to an early grave. When you move with God, you begin to raise the dead. The primary symbols of the Christian faith--the cross, baptism, and the Lord's Supper--are all declarations that through sacrifice comes life. . . . God is always the Source of life. Wherever He is, there is always a future and a hope. He raises us from the dead, never intending that we would spend our lives leaning against our tombstoones. Too many of us have pitched our tents in the cemetery next to the church. He speaks life into our dry bones so that we would become the vast army of God. . . . Engage in an adventure so compelling that it causes the awakening of the dead in spirit.

My soul is thrilled that God heard that prayer this morning and gave me food for thought and encouragement to serve others. I know he will guide me and help me see with his eyes the power available to transform lives.