“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NLT)

 

Years ago, our grandson Christopher was playing in our backyard. Suddenly, he came running into the house with tears streaming down his face, unable to speak because of pain.

“Christopher, what happened?” I asked. He lifted his shirt, and I could see a long, red scrape on his back. It was just deep enough to stir up those little nerve endings, leaving him in that “take-your-breath-away” agony. I scooped him up, grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, and held him in my arms. All I wanted to do was remove the pain, but I couldn’t. I could do something practical like put ice on the wound and hold him tight through his suffering, but beyond that I simply had to wait for the pain to subside.

Oh, how it breaks my heart to see my loved ones hurt. But soon enough, the tears stopped flowing and Christopher felt better. I’m sure the bowl of ice cream I gave him also helped.

So often when someone is hurting, what they want from us more than anything else is just our attention and our love: someone to put our arm around them, listen, and sit with them while they hurt. My hope, my prayer, is that we—as a church, as believers—are doing exactly that. We are coming alongside those who are hurting. We are helping each other. We are welcoming others in. This ministry of presence requires us to be still—to resist the urge to “do,” to fix, or to heal something that’s beyond our power to change.

We want the church to be a place where there’s no shame, no fear, no hiding—a safe place for people who are suffering. We’re not going to fall back on tired clichés and try to fix people. We need to remember that brokenness takes time to heal. And sometimes the brokenness may never heal, but we need to love people throughout that time.

When I was going through my season of suffering after the death of my son, the greatest gift people could give me was the gift of their presence. Of simply being there. Instead of asking me difficult and sometimes wounding questions before I was ready to open up and talk, they chose to just be present with me.

We are here to be like Jesus, to be His hands and feet. We are to show compassion and to offer the ministry of our presence. We may not understand the complexities of people’s lives, but we are believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, and He will guide us in comforting others.

Can we love somebody? Can we welcome somebody? Can we put our arm around somebody? Let’s challenge ourselves to live out a “yes” answer to these questions.

 

Reflection question: When has someone given you the gift of presence? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

 

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

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&ldquo;All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.&nbsp;He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.&rdquo; (2 Corinthians 1:3&ndash;4 NLT)
&nbsp;
Years ago, our grandson Christopher was playing in our backyard. Suddenly, he came running into the house with tears streaming down his face, unable to speak because of pain.
&ldquo;Christopher, what happened?&rdquo; I asked. He lifted his shirt, and I could see a long, red scrape on his back. It was just deep enough to stir up those little nerve endings, leaving him in that &ldquo;take-your-breath-away&rdquo; agony. I scooped him up, grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, and held him in my arms. All I wanted to do was remove the pain, but I couldn&rsquo;t. I could do something practical like put ice on the wound and hold him tight through his suffering, but beyond that I simply had to wait for the pain to subside.
Oh, how it breaks my heart to see my loved ones hurt. But soon enough, the tears stopped flowing and Christopher felt better. I&rsquo;m sure the bowl of ice cream I gave him also helped.
So often when someone is hurting, what they want from us more than anything else is just our attention and our love: someone to put our arm around them, listen, and sit with them while they hurt. My hope, my prayer, is that we&mdash;as a church, as believers&mdash;are doing exactly that. We are coming alongside those who are hurting. We are helping each other. We are welcoming others in. This ministry of presence requires us to be still&mdash;to resist the urge to &ldquo;do,&rdquo; to fix, or to heal something that&rsquo;s beyond our power to change.
We want the church to be a place where there&rsquo;s no shame, no fear, no hiding&mdash;a safe place for people who are suffering. We&rsquo;re not going to fall back on tired clich&eacute;s and try to fix people. We need to remember that brokenness takes time to heal. And sometimes the brokenness may never heal, but we need to love people throughout that time.
When I was going through my season of suffering after the death of my son, the greatest gift people could give me was the gift of their presence. Of simply being there. Instead of asking me difficult and sometimes wounding questions before I was ready to open up and talk, they chose to just be present with me.
We are here to be like Jesus, to be His hands and feet. We are to show compassion and to offer the ministry of our presence. We may not understand the complexities of people&rsquo;s lives, but we are believers with the Holy Spirit living within us, and He will guide us in comforting others.
Can we love somebody? Can we welcome somebody? Can we put our arm around somebody? Let&rsquo;s challenge ourselves to live out a &ldquo;yes&rdquo; answer to these questions.
&nbsp;
Reflection question: When has someone given you the gift of presence?&nbsp;<a href="https://disciple.harvest.org/spaces/17592429/feed?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestDiscipleship">Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!</a>
&mdash;
The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."
&nbsp;
All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.
<a href="https://go.pddr.app/glpodcast">Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast</a>
<a href="https://harvest.org/harvest-partner/?utm_source=DD&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=HarvestPartners">Become a Harvest Partner</a>

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God’s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from Pastor Greg Laurie, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you. 

*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known."

All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

If you want to be successful in the Christian life, you must have a mind full of God&rsquo;s Word. Refresh your mind with it daily, right here. Each day, you'll receive a verse and commentary from&nbsp;<a href="https://harvest.org/about-greg-laurie/">Pastor Greg Laurie</a>, who offers biblical insight through humor, personal stories, and cultural commentary. Start listening and hear what God has to say to you.&nbsp;
*The audio production of this podcast utilizes Generative AI technology.&nbsp;This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie.

Greg Laurie provides commentary on the day's Bible verse.

Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions

Sometimes the greatest gift is the gift of our presence.