Becoming a person who helps others heal through difficult times requires not being enamored with your own solutions.  Relax, your divine teaching moments will come when you’ve earned the right to speak loudly into the lives of others.  But the less frequently you sit down and sincerely feel what’s going on inside Mary or Herman or whoever, the less frequently those moments will come.  Philippians says Jesus came to earth, emptied Himself of all rights and privileges and embraced the form and fashion of a man.  He knew what it took to be the Savior humanity needed and He knew it required feeling all of the emotions we as humans would feel.  Because He loved us that much, He felt the same loneliness, the same hurt, the same rejection He knew we would one day feel.  As the perfect example, Jesus refused to fix anything without first feeling it.  Scripture tells us that we don’t serve a high priest who is untouched and unmoved by the emotions of our hurt, but was afflicted in every possible way.  When we cast our cares on Him, He not only knows each and every care but He has already felt them.

I pray you are always reminded that two thousand years ago on a splintered cross, Jesus modeled to a lost and dying world that real love doesn’t fix pain until it feels it…youth pastor, youth leader, I challenge you to give your undivided attention and emotion to the next person who walks into your office and begins to share his or her heart.  And the moment you find yourself wanting to make assumptions, give a personal example, jump to conclusions or recite a Scripture – all with good intentions of solving their problems, hear me whisper, “Don’t fix it until you feel it.”