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It is hard to know someone is going through something, but you do not know exactly what it is. You sense that they are hurting badly. People may try to pry. Over the years more than not, I have learned that God is letting a Christ Follower know something is wrong for the sole purpose to encourage them and to pray for them, even though the details are not known. Human nature makes us think that we should know it all but like the “right context” from last week. It is not for us to know everything. The answer is to pray and to let God be “God”! He is the One with the answers.

Recently I viewed an episode of “The Chosen,” it is a series about the life of Christ. In this episode, the disciples, Simon, and Matthew have gone to look for Mary. She has left their group and gone back into the city. Mary was demon possessed and lived a life with addiction and abuse before she met Christ. As it turns out she had slipped back into her addictive behavior. As Simon and Matthew are looking for Mary. I am paraphrasing-Matthew tells Simon, “If something was keeping you from Jesus, wouldn’t you want someone to bring you back to him?” Such a powerful statement as a Christ Follower.

The Word says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) As humans it is not always easy to deny ourselves. We are accustomed to an assortment of luxuries: food, accommodations, entertainment…etc. Sometimes these types of things lead us down paths that we take for granted. We become addicted to what makes us feel good. Satisfaction and gratification wane quickly. Easily we forget about God’s holy direction and/or creep back into old habits. What we fail to remember is that as a Christ Follower God is bigger than any addiction or discrepancy. He outweighs our sins …mistakes, wrong choices, bad behaviors…anything that is ungodly. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.” No matter what we go through God is right there to redeem us.

As a Christ Follower: pray for those that are hurting even without having to know the details. Be intentional to help those who have fallen, to get up and find their way back to Jesus. “Love others more than yourselves.”

Yvette Perrin can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.