Okay, I don't typically blog twice in the same week, but a few stories have come up that I think will encourage us all to pursue our brothers and sisters when they find themselves in the wilderness.

I received a text from a dear friend after the message. He said he thought the message on Psalm 63 was the best he heard me preach. Was it? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. I think what he was really saying was that it met him in his wilderness; it was what he needed to hear. It encouraged him. It drew him into Christ. That's what matters. It met him in a specific way because of how real the wilderness is for him right now.

I was speaking with a lady in the office who shared about a meeting she and her husband had with a sister in the church Sunday afternoon. She too is in a wilderness. She shared that beyond the message, the time to sit with friends and pour out her soul was such an encouragement and refreshment. She was strengthened and able to see God right there with her through the personal touch of caring friends.

Finally, someone left an anonymous gift in the offering. They wanted to express care to people in need and entrusted to the church their gift to be freely distributed. Wow! They didn’t even have one person in mind; they just wanted to provide for anyone in the wilderness of financial need.

These last two, especially, highlight the difference it makes when the body of Christ is caring for one another. Encouragement happens. Care happens. Hope happens. And we are a part of making it happen! And the first one illustrates that timely words soothe the soul. How might a phone call, a cup of coffee, or an invite to your home be just what another individual or family needs right now? Let us not neglect to show hospitality in all these forms, friends. It may mean far more than you and I realize to the one receiving such expressions of love and care.

Look for someone in the wilderness; they are all around. And a little time spent with you may be just what they need!

"Lord Jesus, give us your heart for others. Help us to see beyond our schedules, and even lighten our schedules, so that we can truly give ourselves to caring for one another. Thank you for every person you have used in our own wilderness moments, and use us in the wilderness moments of others. Help us not only to proclaim the Gospel, but be the Gospel."