Fall 1987
A Valuable Result of His Dealings
Wade E Taylor

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" II Cor 1:3-4.

Everywhere, there are wounded Christians who have been unintentionally hurt by a minister of the Gospel, or by another Christian who did not understand how to respond to their need. After being deeply hurt, these draw back and refuse to again expose their need, and consequently become spiritually crippled.

There is an increasing need for a compassionate and understanding ministry that has a desire to bring healing to these who have been wounded and left behind, and finally alone, withdrawn from fellowship with the Body of Christ.

Those who are burdened to minister in this area of critical need must be willing to subject their lives to dealings than are beyond that which is required for their own spiritual correction and walk. This is necessary so they will be able to relate to the trials of the wounded and hurt, and then understand how to help them.

Preparation for this ministry is above and beyond all that is required to accomplish the revealed goal of bringing us into the measure of the stature and image of Christ. Therefore, those who desire this ministry must give the Lord the right to take them through the trials that are necessary in order to prepare them to understand and relate to the needs of these wounded and hurting Christians.

In the Garden of Eden, the enemy told Eve that if she and Adam would partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would gain the right to be "as gods." That is, they would receive the right to do as they desire, or choose. See Gen 3:3-5. They partook and died spiritually, loosing their relationship of total dependence upon God. Their sin was forgiven thru God shedding the blood of an animal, and providing them with a covering of skin. Our sin is forgiven thru Jesus who died upon the cross, and covered our sin under His blood.

This right that we gained in the Garden of Eden to choose for ourselves remains with us, even after our sins are forgiven and cleansed through His blood. Therefore, apart from the sovereign intervening Grace of God, or the taking up of our cross and dying to our own ways, we function on the lower level of the "knowledge of good and evil," doing what we feel to be right and best. Many times, we fall short of true understanding and hurt the spiritual walk of others through our sincere but faulty counsel.

The Lord recognizes this right that we gained in the Garden of Eden to choose between good or evil, and does not cross this line. "IF any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" Matt 16:24. The "if" in this verse tells us that we must choose to submit our will to Him, and die to our right to ourselves. Otherwise, we continue in our own ways.

When I came to understand this, I quickly turned aside, and prayerfully gave back to the Lord my right to do as I choose, and to judge for myself what is good or evil. Then, I unconditionally submitted my life to His Lordship, and began to look to Him to make these choices for me.

When I made Him "Lord" of my life, I gave Him the right to deal with me as He chooses for whatever purposes that He may have. Over the years that I have know and served Him, I have learned that He takes advantage of this submission of my life to Him in order to prepare me to be used by Him to minister to another. The dealings that He takes me through for this purpose are usually apart from, and completely different than any need that I may have within my own life.

However, my willingness to go through these experiences will qualify me to become an instrument in His hand to help and encourage others in a way that could not happen through any other means. Whenever I complain to Him about the things that I find myself going through, the Lord reminds me that I gave Him the right to do this.

There is great satisfaction, along with a sense of purpose and attainment that comes with this. "He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel" Psalm 103.7. Moses paid a price for what he knew and understood, and was in a different relationship to God than Israel.

We are to "comfort them that are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" 2 Cor 1:4b. This means that we are enabled to help others, because of the help that we received from the Lord when we were caused by Him to experience a similar circumstance.

This help that we received enables us to understand the place that another is in. Through the help that we received from the Lord, we can impart to those who hurt, an understanding of the way through. Also, it helps us to remain humble and tells us that we have no right to judge or be critical. It will give us a spirit of compassion towards those who are hurting.

Only after the Lord has brought about a divine arrangement through which He faithfully brings us and teaches us, will we be able to understand the tribulations of others. Only then can we bring the needed healing to these wounded spirits.

We need to recognize that very often the things that we go through may be for the benefit of others. If we fail to do this, we may react and come short of becoming a vessel prepared to help others through their tribulation.

We are only qualified to minister to others after we have been tested and proven to be faithful; otherwise our ministry would only be harsh and vindictive. As we are taken thru His dealings, we come to understand His ways and are able to apply these principles to the lives of others.

A Christian who has been through the dealings of the Lord and ministers through a broken and contrite spirit will draw many to the Lord, and see many lives inwardly healed and changed.

There is an urgent need for this ministry in our day, are you willing to do your part?