Two of my close friends' dads passed away during this Christmas break. One on Christmas day and the other New Year's Eve. You know to be honest with you, I really didn't have the words to express to them how much my heart went goes out to them. The Lord then spoke to me, "just be there [physically] for them." So as much as I have been able to, I have just tried to literally just be there. As much as I felt that I needed to say "the right words" or "do the right thing"...the only peace I had was when I was just there hanging out with them and surrounding them with God's love.
I love this verse, "So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance (Romans 8:26 Amplified version). It just reminds me that even in those moments when you don't have "the right words" to say or you just don't have words, God never leaves you alone, He sends the Holy Spirit to pray with and for you. And so sometimes allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for you in harmony with God's will, allows your requests to be heard by the Lord and it allows God to work on your behalf.
One thing I have truly learned over the years is that as much as I thought I wanted to be isolated and alone at times of my life... God has shown me that, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)."
These verses ring so true in my heart. God created and designed us for companionship, not isolation. He designed us to lean on one another, so that we may help each other up in our time of need. God designed you and I to be servants of one another...as Christ did for us.
Today, take time to think of a friend or two that may need you a word of encouragement, or for you "to just be there." Serve them by being what God designed you to be...a friend, a companion. And allow the Holy spirit to speak on your behalf in those times that you do not have the words to express.
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