*Post updated January 2023
Jesus Calls Us To Show Up
It’s hard not to be grieved and sometimes angry about the suffering I see in the women who walk through my ministry doors every day. God, they don’t DESERVE this suffering. Take it away, Lord. I beg you.
I remember a time when I got so hyper-focused on the challenges that I began to serve them out of obligation and, therefore, my own strength. I wanted to fight back against their suffering, but I ended up serving from an empty well.
When I finally sat down with Jesus, He both changed my heart and propelled me forward. Newness came, and the oil in my lamp was filled to overflowing.
I learned there is a key to always keeping it full. I had to repent and turn back to Him. He was the answer. I wasn’t.
As I communed with Christ in prayer, He said, “GO! Show up! I want to BE with them.”
Christ suffered for sins once and for all, both the righteous and unrighteous, so that He might bring you back to Himself, after being put to death in the fleshly realm, but made alive in the spiritual realm. -1 Peter 3:18
Christ is with us in our suffering, and He went first.
In the midst of suffering, love invades because the body of Christ is walking in her true calling, and Jesus is made KNOWN.
We Cannot Disconnect From Suffering
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…” 1 Peter 3:14-15
1 Peter 3:14-15 instructs us that we will be blessed if we suffer for loving God and loving others. Then, we are encouraged not to be afraid or troubled but to honor Jesus as holy with all of our hearts.
Have you ever suffered on behalf of another? Have another person’s suffering ever caused you to suffer in heart and spirit?
Receive that suffering for others as a blessing, and ask Jesus to cast out all fear in you. Then, move in to help in any way you can, carrying the peace of Jesus both for you and for them.
When peace abounds in our hearts, we can imitate Jesus, lending a hand of hope to the suffering.
In the midst of suffering, love invades because the body of Christ is walking in her true calling, and Jesus is made KNOWN. If we hold tightly to the King of Kings first, true freedom can be cultivated in any situation for any person.
Here are two ideas to get started right where you are:
Ask the Lord who He wants you to serve today. Maybe it’s your husband, your children, or your friend. Maybe it’s that homeless woman who desires freedom but has no clue that the King of Kings is mindful of her or the trafficked woman who is afraid and doesn’t know peace is in her midst.
Set your gaze. There is a strategic assignment set out for you. The enemy wants us to be distracted from setting our gaze on Christ in the Word, tuning into the Spirit, and listening to His voice. We are all created by Him and FOR Him. I won’t sit idly and watch the enemy pacify people with worldly things. Nor will I participate with the enemy by speaking condemnation, shame, regret, and hate to the very people who are NEEDED in the church and wanted by Jesus. He suffered for them and for us.
Since Christ suffered in the flesh, equip yourselves also with the same resolve.-1 Peter 4:1
I have to believe as we come close to suffering, trusting in the goodness of God, our flesh dies, and our spirits come alive. We cannot disconnect from suffering. God calls us to be ready to serve, just as Jesus did. Jesus gives us a Kingdom lens for the people in our communities who are experiencing all kinds of suffering.
Now it’s time to find your people, love your people, right?
Carriers of the Holy Spirit
I have the honor of being an Ambassador for Revelation Wellness. I host classes for the homeless, trafficked, addicted, and abused women of Wichita, KS.
When they step into the room to move, suffering fades because they know Who is in the room with them. Jesus!
When we are with the suffering as carriers of the Holy Spirit, the atmosphere changes. People are MADE WELL by the power of the Holy Spirit. They begin to realize Who is for them in the midst of their suffering. You can see how they come alive when they begin to move with Him. It’s a beautiful sight.
Fear and doubts fade as love and truth invade.
New thought patterns begin to form and take root, and toxins begin to flow out of the very body they injected drugs into. Our bodies know how to heal and long to rid themselves of anything not given by their Creator. God knew what He was doing when He created.
As women respond to God’s grace with their physical bodies, manifestations of wholeness explode in and through their spirits. I see this over and over again. All we have to do is show up. Jesus does all the hard work for us. Literally!
So friend, if you are serving that friend or that neighbor, your co-worker, the poor, or the body of Christ, and you feel like you have nothing more to give, get with God and keep going!
Connect with Christ. He’s already done it all. He wants you to come away with Him in the secret place to reveal more of Himself so that you can give His heart away to others in His strength. Christ wants to BE with us and make us well. He truly is the answer.
Julia McGathy serves as a Revelation Wellness Ambassador in Wichita, Kansas. She recently graduated from Platoon 21. She is a full-time missionary for the urban poor, working specifically with homeless women who are trafficked, abused, and have addictions. My heart is for them to KNOW Jesus and be made well! You can find her on Facebook!
14 Responses
Beautifully written
Thank you for reading, Brooke! We are thankful you are here!
Beautifully written. It’s an incredible feeling to be full of christ and to be used by Christ to minister to others, instead of just using ourselves (without the fullness of Christ) to minister. One Is freeing and life-giving, the other can be toxic and exhausting. Thank you for your obedienCe in serving and helping to free the lost and brokEn – God’s love pours deep into the cracks of those who openly invite him in. Thank you for facilitating his love and His story to these women.
It is so life-giving to serve and love others as we’ve been called to do. We have a good, good Father.
This is just what I needed this morning. salve to the heart.
We are thankful this blessed you, Felecia! 🙂
Thank you for this word today, i trust and believe God is doing a work in Me and is clean me of anythjng that can hinder my walk with him. Thank you Jesus for Cleansing me and protecting me in the storm. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Amen and Amen.
Thank you for sharing your heart, Ana!
Oh how I thank God For Your words of truth!!! Thank you for reminding me that He is the answer and the living hope to All i love who are suffering today in their physical bodies. All glory to our prince of peace. Our comforter in times of distress. My heart gets over burdened at times for those I said in pain and anguish. Yes. I need to sometimes pull away and be alone with my savior and trust in his resurrection power to deliver them from depression, ailing bodies and know his will is for us all to love him more than our life! God bless you and thank you for your perfect timing of words of wisdom !
Thank you for sharing, Dana! He IS living hope!
First off I want to thank you for being an ambassador for all of us! That is good and hard work bless you!
I want you to know that a group of women gather at 5 AM to pray at the gates this month for things that are covered up and one of those today was specifically human trafficking. Know that others are with you from around the country and the world.
I aI am currently serving my husband as he has cancer and we do not know the length of his days. it is a different kind of work that I’ve ever done it is more than simply being a wife. We are all called the hard things!
blessings to all of You at Rev Well!
Thank you so much for sharing, Rebekah! Thank you for praying for those who are serving the suffering. We will pray for you as your serve and love your husband.
Thank you Julia for this blog full of BEAUTIFUL TRUTHs. I have a heart for the urban poor in my neighborhood of City heights in San Diego, ca. It is so encouraging to know we our fighting the same fight IN different neighborhoods. Thankful that the women in witchita, ka have someone like you to show them the love of Jesus!
Thank you for linking arms with the poor in your neighborhood! You are doing good work, Misty!