“When somebody is going through a rough time, just sit with them. No preaching. No advice. Just be there.” ~ Unknown
One of the things that often inhibits our spiritual growth is our apparent need to be busy at all times. For some reason, we equate being busy with being successful. The person who has time to sit around is seen as the person who is lazy and unproductive.
Because of our need to be busy, when someone we know has a problem, we often want to do everything possible to “fix” the problem. We leap into action. We recommend solutions. We try to change outcomes. All of that frenetic activity is often less than helpful, though.
Sometimes a person doesn’t need us to charge into their lives and fix things. Sometimes a person simply needs us to come into their lives, sit with them, and listen. When we listen and resist the urge to take over and do things for them, we give them the opportunity to open their hearts to us. The product of our listening might just be peace of heart or an opportunity for them to clear their heads and think through to their own solution.
Learning to listen to others does something much better for us as well. It teaches us to slow down our own lives, to silence our own minds and hearts, so that we could listen better to the voice of God. God wants to sit with us. He is anxious to do so. However, we are often so busy with our own lives that we do not make the time for Him.
God is not waiting for us to be silent so that He can pour His troubles out to us. God is waiting for us to be silent so that we can hear His voice, know that He is near, and pour out our troubles to Him.
The one that could help us the most is so often inhibited by the fact that we do not make the time for Him. Lent is all about making time for God. Listening to others helps us to listen for God.
FAITH ACTION: Do you know someone going through a tough patch in life? Be there for that person today.