How much of the time do we spend wrapped up in ourselves with our problems and our desires and our fantasies in our own little world? How much useless energy is spent in useless anxiety over possible futures that almost never come to pass? How many of us cling to old wounds that won’t heal and old grudges we can’t ungrasp? What’s the cure? To serve.
The best cure for your aching heart is to give it away serving others. To go out of your normal routine and intentionally make time to give a sympathetic ear to one who’s in pain. To go serve food to the homeless. To give an encouraging text to a friend who is feeling down and out.
The best cure for discouragement is to get out of your little world and go be Jesus to someone else in someone else’s world. You don’t have time for self-pity when you are lifting someone else up. God takes us down hard roads and rough places so that we can sympathize and bless those who walk similar paths. The fact that you lost a loved one makes you the one person best suited for helping someone else who is coping with loss. Your past of sexual abuse earns you the right to speak into the lives of those coming out of abusive situations. Your own battle with self-esteem issues makes you qualified to talk with that one who suffers with insecurities.
We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet, His heartbeat, and His love made visible to those around us. You may be the only Bible someone will ever read. I may not be able to prove my faith scienfically, but NO ONE can ever argue about what Jesus has done in my life. I am living proof, a testimony to the goodness and saving power of God in Jesus Christ.
As I have mentioned before, even if you are one small candle and don’t feel like your light reaches anybody, remember that all the darkness in the whole world will never be able to overcome the light from one single candle. All the darkness in the world has to flee from the light of Jesus shining through one obedient, faithful soul.
So get out of yourself and serve. It’s the best cure for saving you and me from ourselves.
Amen and amen.
Ragamuffingospelfan's Blog 
This is so good, Greg. And so true–when we serve, we think so much less of ourselves.
Greg, this is so very true.
My husband was once taught (in the business world) that to be a good leader, you had to show your followers that you were worthy to be followed and that the best way to do that was to serve them.
Just today, I was reading “Fields of the Fatherless” and was presented with something I’m not sure I’ve ever considered. Regarding Matthew 25:40, we often read this and think, “oh those poor ‘least of these'” but, the truth is, we are ALL the least of these. So much so that He had to send his own son to save us from ourselves. How could we NOT return the favor by being His hands and feet?
Great stuff, Greg; thanks for sharing !!!
That’ll preach! Amen!