1) People Are Hurting – But they don’t wear signs.

We pass people every day who are barely holding it together. Yet they are dressed up with a smile on their face and if you ask them how they are doing, they’ll say “well” or “fine” or a host of other positive responses.

Hurting, scared, desperate, empty people don’t wear signs reflecting how their life is going.

So, be nice to people, and let your actions point back to Christ. Because you may be the only bright spot in their day. You might even be the only person/conduit in their lives that Christ can work through to reach them. It’s possible.

At the lowest points in my life, basically nobody knew where I was mentally, emotionally, physically, or spiritually except my wife and to an extent my mother. But neither one of them honestly knew just what a bad place I was really in. Outside of them, nobody else had a clue.

So, at a minimum, just be nice to people and don’t add to their burden.

2) You May Be Hurting – If so, Stop Pretending!

If what you are carrying is getting heavy, then put it down, or ask for help carrying it if you can’t just “put it down”. My life changed when I stopped pretending I was fine and asked God for His help.

I finally admitted I couldn’t fix me, or my situation, or fill the empty hole inside of me without Him. But it took me a long, long time to get there. About two decades. Looking back I very much regret that decision took so long.

So, stop pretending you can do it, or fix it, or fill it, and just give it to God.

And when you do, don’t expect Him to wave His magic wand and just make it all go away. That’s not always how it works, except for the empty hole. He will begin to fill the empty hole inside of you quickly. And once that starts getting filled, it often leads to changes in your life elsewhere.

Just do your part, and don’t stop doing your part…the seeking part…that’s what opens the door for God to work in your life. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.¹

Get In The Boat. Do Your Part.

From Nose to Toes!

Shane/#16

 

Shane Hale is a redeemed & re-purposed professional baseball player and former corporate sales executive. Shane, his wife Michelle, and their three sons live in Mobile, Alabama, USA, where he works as a Realtor. While seeking God’s plan for his life in the summer of 2014, God told Shane to start writing. Today he shares his faith to encourage and inspire others to seek His plan for their lives as well. Check out his blog at www.the1sixproject.com.

 

Footnotes: (1) Jeremiah 29:12-13.

Pictures: Banner: Stop Pretending, photo by Shane Hale, from Guideposts Daily Devotional. (1) Clergy Burnout, from ame2.com. (2) Inside Looking Out, photo by Joshua Rawson, Unsplash.com. (3) I Am With You, Jeremiah 29:11, from Life Church Open Network, httpsopen.life.church//.