HOW TO HELP OTHERS
MENTAL HEALTH IS A NATIONWIDE CRISIS.
How do we care for and help our child that struggles with anxiety, our teenager that struggles with identity, or your spouse, friend, or family member that has given up on life?
HOW DO WE COME ALONGSIDE OF THEM?
Scripture tells us that we comfort them…
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 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. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NLT
- God is the source of all comfort.
- God gives us comfort through Jesus Christ so that we might comfort others.
- Paul makes it clear there are sufferings, but God will comfort us.
“Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don’t agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, if we can take them, they are part of our share in the Passion of Christ.” – C.S. Lewis
I NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I CAN CONTROL, WHAT I CAN INFLUENCE, AND WHAT I MUST ACCEPT.
What I control:
- My thoughts
- My actions
- My decisions
What I can’t control:
- Your thoughts
- Your actions
- Your decisions
I CAN’T FIX OTHERS, BUT I CAN HELP / INFLUENCE OTHERS. • We hurt for others, and we want to control their decisions and circumstances, however we can’t control them, but we can influence them and help them.
3 WAYS WE CAN INFLUENCE OTHERS AND HELP THEM: 1. BE PRESENT OVER BEING PROFOUND.
o We can help by being there, to come alongside.
o It’s not what you say, it’s that you’re there.
13 Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words. Job 2:13 NLT
- BE HELPFUL OVER BEING HEROIC.
o We can help by doing something for them.
o We can help by sharing resources like books or
testimonies.
o We can point them to Jesus who is the hero in the story.
- BE CONSISTENT OVER BEING DRAMATIC.
o Walk with them through the suffering.
o Check on them and pray for them.
o Share encouraging scripture.
I HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN. GOD IS IN CONTROL, NOT ME.
1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1 NLT
Next Steps for me today…
- Make sure you have a relationship with Jesus through faith.
- Share Jesus with those that are suffering.
- Daily surrender ourselves and our struggles to God.
