Helping Others Reach God

Do you have a family member or a friend who feels lost and hopeless? Do you feel as though you are uncertain as to how to help?

Helping yourself to find God is a challenging road in itself, but to help others find God in the midst of their own darkness? Even more daunting!

But it can be done! Especially when you have the love for that person and long to make them feel better!

You Feel It First

The best way to help others feel closer to God is for you, first, to feel that connection. When you feel that connection, then you will be guided on how to help others feel it, too!

Make certain you have taken the time to examine your relationship with God!

As discussed in previous posts, taking the time to talk to God and to listen for God’s words back to you are important steps to master. These may take sometime, but it may soon become routine as you go about your everyday tasks.

Trusting God and His word and knowing when it is right is also important for you to learn to master. Don’t just shrug off an urge to open the door for someone! If you feel a strong push to help someone in this way, do it! It is more than likely God speaking to you and possibly saying something like, “My dear, I really need you to please open the door for this person.”

Once you feel a closer connection to God in these ways, then you will be able to help others find that special relationship, too!

Helping That Special Person

Ask God, “How can I help my brother during this time of loss?” or “How can I help my neighbor manage her sadness?”

Come right out and ask God! Even if you simply ask in your mind. Remember, you do not have to get down on your knees and ask or wait until you are in church! You can ask God while you are washing dishes or mopping the floor!

Ask and then LISTEN.

Listen for God’s guidance.

Remember, you can be doing an everyday task when you ask these questions, but make certain to pay attention to any answers that may pop into your mind or your heart at the time.

God may not answer you right away. He may have you dream about an answer that night or not place a thought in your mind until a week later. Remember, everything is in God’s time, not ours.

God may not want you to help right away. He may be reserving your assistance for later on when He feels it is really needed. At that point, then, he may answer your question.

Ok. You may be thinking, “Why should I even bother asking God for help then if He is not going to respond when I ask Him to?”

It is important for God to know that you are ready to hear His response. That you are ready and are preparing yourself to do what He has asked you to do.

When you ask, you tell God, “Yes, God, I am ready to know what you have in store for me next.”

“I am ready to know what you want me to do to help this person.”

How Do I Know What To Do?                                                                                                                            

Simple answer: God will tell you!                                                                                                                                                                                     

What we often wonder about is what to say to someone who is sad or in pain. We probably spend more time searching our minds for the right words to say in the moment than anything else!

Many times, the best way to help someone is not by the words that you say, but by the little things that you do. And God may simply want you to do and not say anything!

Even, sometimes, the words that we speak may come out wrong and may not help the person at all or only make them more upset.

I know that we often resort to some common sayings, such as, “Time will heal” or “You need to let go of this and move on” or “Don’t worry. Everything will be alright.”

Sometimes these are okay to say and sometimes, they only hurt more in the moment because they may make that person feel as though their feelings are not worthy for the occasion.

At times, we may just blurt these phrases out because we just cannot think of anything else to say and we feel that we need to say something in order to help.

If you wait and listen, God may just give you the right words to say to that person!

Before I encounter a journey like this, I say, “God, please speak through me. Please tell me what to say or do. Please work through me to help (person’s name).”

If the person says something that I feel a need to respond to, I may wait a minute before I say anything and listen to what my heart is telling me to say.

The hard part is the pause. The silence. So that you can “think before you speak,” so to say!

If you can learn to be okay with a bit of silence between you and the other person then God can work with you in these moments to give you the right gift of healing!

Just Do

As mentioned before, God may not want us to say anything at all! He may just want us to do something instead.

I have to share this story with you because it was so profound to me:

A friend of mine has a sister. Her sister lost her son to an illness.

My friend would go over to her sister’s house to check on her and her sister would be curled up on the couch or curled up in a closet somewhere and would not speak because she was so stricken with grief.

Here is the profound part. Instead of my friend going over there and talking to her and trying to say words to make her feel better, my friend would just sit in the room with her and not say anything at all. She would sit on the couch with her and just watch TV, if that was what her sister was doing. She would sit in the bedroom with her while her sister laid in the closet and just cried. My friend would go over to her house, every day since the death of her nephew, and just sit quietly with her sister all day and until her sister fell asleep at night. Then she would go home. She would come back the next day and everyday until her sister could function again.

What is so profound about this? My friend found a way to sincerely help her sister without saying a word at all! Just knowing that my friend was present helped her sister through the most trying time of her life.

So, what are some other things that you can do to help someone you love who is going through a similar situation?

Sometimes, just giving a hug is a good way to help.

Not just offering, but actually going ahead and preparing a meal for that person.

Here are some other ideas that you may feel guided to do:

• Sitting and spending time with that person.
• Just listening to the person.
• Simply sitting and watching TV with that person.
• Buying some groceries and putting them away for the person you care about.
• Buying tickets to a concert and taking him/her out for a night.
• Having a “girls” or a “guys” night.
• Bringing over some ice cream to share

Making an “I care about you” package is also a nice idea! You can fill a box or basket with some of the person’s favorite items or maybe even items they may need, such as a grocery store gift card or some tissue boxes. I really enjoy finding special items to remind the person of God’s love for them at DaySpring.

Helping a Child During Difficult Times                                                                                                  

Much of what I have talked about here is aimed towards adults, but children go through especially difficult times, as well.

Maybe the person you are looking to help is actually a child!

Your special child may have just lost a parent or a friend. Maybe they had to move to a new home. Perhaps, they are being bullied at school.

Simply spending time with a child is a great way to help them through difficult times. Let them know that if they want to talk to you about anything that is bothering them, they can.

Here are some ideas of things you can do with a child to maybe help them through:

• Draw pictures with them and the pictures can even be about the challenges they are facing and how they can feel better.
• Play outside
• Blow bubbles
• Go to the park
• Go get ice cream
• Go for a walk
• Play their favorite game
• Make a craft
• Ride bikes
• Build a fort
• Read books
• Help them write a story about the challenge they are facing

God will help you to decide the right way to help a child. Again, it is important to listen for His words and then follow through.

Children are especially impressionable, so spending time with them and being a good role model for them helps immensely! Just knowing that you are there if they need you can be reassuring for a child.

Maybe you would like to find a unique gift to remind him/her that God loves them. You can even have a gift personalized through Friendly Songs!

How Does All of This Help Someone Else Feel Closer to God?

If you are following God’s words because of your close connection to God, then you are acting as a bridge to help someone else feel closer to God!

Simple as that!

And your faith in God’s words is proof of God’s love and support for that other person!

May God Bless You for seeking ways to help the person you love!