Has anyone
ever come to you and asked for help? My
guess is you could answer YES a few times.
Since I became a Christian, time
after time…can you pray for me? Can you
drop me off to pick up my car? Can you
help me with these groceries? These all sound reasonable, they are not asking
too much, right?
What you don’t know is that I was not always a
Christian. I did not know what it meant
to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I
could never simply share my time, my talents or my story. I also learned to be codependent from my
alcoholic dad. I learned to never trust
anyone as they may have an angle or a way to get over on me or steal me
blind. (What does that mean anyway, can
someone steal your sight?) And finally I
learned that I was never safe, I always had to have an exit plan.
Being
codependent means that I take on too much when I am helping someone. I trust in
my own understanding of things rather than giving it to God. I do things that they should be doing for
themselves. I tried to endure or
water-down their hurt and their punishment.
I stayed awake at nights worrying about them and their problems.
The church was offering a Lay Counseling class, the book title they were
studying read “How can I help? Caring for People without Harming them or
Yourself .” Chapter One… You must be
led by the Holy Spirit not by the needs of others. I love
that. There is hope for me. When we try to help others by sharing our testimony
about what God has done in our lives, we must be so careful. Why? Because the
Holy Spirit works differently in other people’s lives. What might be good for
us may not be good for them. When we
share our faith or our confidence in God, we could be robbing them of their reality. Faith is described as taking hold of Christ,
keeping our hold on him and never letting go. Let them grab hold of their
Jesus, let him be their Rock.
Never rely on YOUR surrender to solve THEIR problems--- always rely on
the Holy Spirit to guide you. When
people are rooted in their own realities nothing can shake them.
The Word says:
“My speech and my preaching were not
with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and
of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power
of God.” We see miraculous things happen when we act through the Holy Spirit.
For me, I can trust in God, I can surrender to his purpose in my life. I don’t have to worry anymore about others, I
can just love them. I can also stop running." 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
“My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” We see miraculous things happen when we act through the Holy Spirit. For me, I can trust in God, I can surrender to his purpose in my life. I don’t have to worry anymore about others, I can just love them. I can also stop running." 1 Corinthians 2:4-5
Beautify our lives dear Lord,
Through your spirit day by day, That your heart may find delight In all we do and say. (A poem by Maryann V. Shue)
Written by
Shelly Keith
