Which type are you ?

[B8t6]

Their is a quote which says " Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls."

I have suffered alot lately and mostly through my sin and bad choices but also for what God himself only knows. In the midst of the battle of my life I found something I once heard begin to appear. I heard a preacher say that in your Christian journey you may meet three types of Christian in times of trial and tribulation when your sinking and feeling overwhelmed in the waters.

1) Their may be Christians who stand and fold their arms who watch and gossip with each other who point and do nothing to help while you go down.

2) Their may be Christians that come near who stand upon you and push you down even further through judging and condemning you without mercy for past sin and failings.

3) Then their may be the third type of Christian who as they see you drowning will come to your aid as Jesus did with Peter when he was sinking. In mercy and truth this Christian will reach down and take hold upon you and pull you up in hope and faith and love.

Matthew 14:29-31 (KJV)
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?

 

[“Paisios”]

Which type am I?

I strive for the third, usually am the first, and frequently pray not to be the second. May the Lord have mercy on me.

 

[brinny]

Their is a quote which says " Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls."

I have suffered alot lately and mostly through my sin and bad choices but also for what God himself only knows. In the midst of the battle of my life I found something I once heard begin to appear. I heard a preacher say that in your Christian journey you may meet three types of Christian in times of trial and tribulation when your sinking and feeling overwhelmed in the waters.

1) Their may be Christians who stand and fold their arms who watch and gossip with each other who point and do nothing to help while you go down.

2) Their may be Christians that come near who stand upon you and push you down even further through judging and condemning you without mercy for past sin and failings.

3) Then their may be the third type of Christian who as they see you drowning will come to your aid as Jesus did with Peter when he was sinking. In mercy and truth this Christian will reach down and take hold upon you and pull you up in hope and faith and love.

Matthew 14:29-31 (KJV)
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?

" Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls."

That's a profound quote.

Reminds me of this verse:

"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." ~Isa 48:10

I can relate to your post.

1 and 2 remind me of Job's "friends"

AKA: his "frenemies".

The bottom line is, with "friends" like that, who needs enemies?

By the way, welcome to CF. Your avatar is powerful. It tells a story in itself.

God bless you.

(by the way, i'm #3).

 

[Carl Emerson]

He is always there for us.

Sadly the deepest trials we endure alone for lack of #3

Sadly many of our 'mentors' have a christian career identity but have not walked the walk.

There seems to be no substitute for an extended wilderness journey to find depth and security in Him.

He is ever gracious, the beginning and the end.

Deep calls to deep for those who have shared in His sufferings.

This seems to be a missing link in modern christianity - sharing in the sufferings of Jesus.

Such suffering is appointed and fruitful.

Paul said it well...

24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. Col 1:NIV

 

[com7fy8]

"He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness." (Hebrews 5:2)

I can use my own failures to help me understand and feel for others, but minister for them to live in God's grace instead.

"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

With God, we can restore anyone out of any problem. So, have hope for any person >

Love "hopes all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7).

 

[splish- splash]

I guess im in there somewhere.

Honestly!! With where im coming from with my life and what my Lord has done for me, I always find myself burning up badly inside with wanting to speak of His greatness. Especially when someone is going through a bad season, I just have to talk about Jesus otherwise, i might just explode if i don't let it out.

 

[Joyous Song]

Their is a quote which says " Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls."

I have suffered alot lately and mostly through my sin and bad choices but also for what God himself only knows. In the midst of the battle of my life I found something I once heard begin to appear. I heard a preacher say that in your Christian journey you may meet three types of Christian in times of trial and tribulation when your sinking and feeling overwhelmed in the waters.

1) Their may be Christians who stand and fold their arms who watch and gossip with each other who point and do nothing to help while you go down.

2) Their may be Christians that come near who stand upon you and push you down even further through judging and condemning you without mercy for past sin and failings.

3) Then their may be the third type of Christian who as they see you drowning will come to your aid as Jesus did with Peter when he was sinking. In mercy and truth this Christian will reach down and take hold upon you and pull you up in hope and faith and love.

Matthew 14:29-31 (KJV)
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?

4 .) you see, you want to help, you try desperately to find a way to help but you yourself are struggling and sinking so you not sure even what you can do, will help.

I known far too many in this pattern, today especially with so many losing their jobs and not getting them back in the recovery (elderly, women and people of color).

 

[Pearl7]

Your post is inspiring, I myself too aspire to be the third one.

 

[Unqualified]

Hmf! When we get our needs met we feel like helping. When we are meeting needs it is help enough. Get in His word, take a risk. Find the goodness of God.