Day 36: Body Building

And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:24–25

Oftentimes I’m not able to get a flight home until the morning after a conference, and for whatever reason, being trapped in unfamiliar places causes me to crave Indian food. Because there’s nothing quite like copious amounts of warm naan and Chicken Tikka Masala to restore exhausted, spicy-food loving Bible teachers! Anyway, not too long ago, I found myself in a far-from-home city with an airport that rolled up its sidewalks at sundown, so I Googled “Indian food” and soon found myself shoveling forkfuls of basmati rice and curry-covered chicken into my mouth. I may’ve moaned in ecstasy at one point.

After consuming enough food to feed a football lineman, I booked an Uber to take me back to the hotel. I tried to act graceful and nonchalant when the driver pulled up, but I’m pretty sure the way I waddled to his car with beads of sweat on my upper lip from my super-spicy supper gave my gluttony away. In an effort to distract him from the fact that I had to unbutton the top of my jeans (or else ask him to swing by a hospital because I’d cut off my circulation), I casually asked him how his night was going. Of course, I didn’t have a lot of emotional investment into his well-being at that point. All I really wanted to do was get back to my room at the Marriott as quickly as possible so that I could be miserable in private. I was surprised when instead of responding with the usual and non-committal, “fine,” he turned around to face me and replied sincerely, “I’m not doing too well tonight, Ma’am, but I’m sure you don’t feel like hearing my sad story on a Saturday night.” And just like that, a spark of compassion elbowed my indigestion out of the way.

I said, “My name’s Lisa and I’d love to hear your story.” Which was all it took to open the door to Jason’s heart. He explained that his wife had been murdered in a fast-food-robbery gone bad a few years before, and that he was raising their three young children by himself. He teared up while talking about how much he missed his wife and how he wished she could be there to see their youngest daughter start kindergarten the following week. His raw authenticity gave me the perfect opportunity to talk about God’s tangible comfort during life’s most painful seasons. How the Bible promises that He’s close to the brokenhearted and near to us when our lives feel crushed (Ps. 34:18).

At that point Jason’s countenance lit up and he began sharing enthusiastically about how God had been the foundation of their healing process from the very beginning. A smile spread across his face when he described how their oldest son—who was nine at the time—walked into his bedroom the morning after his mama was killed and said, “Daddy, I think we need to start going to church.” The last five minutes of our ride became a rolling revival as we swapped stories about how loving and accessible God is. Instead of simply being a mode of transportation, his vehicle morphed into a sanctuary!

Though it was unexpected, our God-authored connection reminded me of how important it is for believers to share the cool stuff Christ is doing in our lives and encourage each other by testifying what our Redeemer has actually redeemed in our little corner of the world! Frankly, I think it’s an absolute necessity for those of us who are committed to staying the course of radical Christian living. Because if you don’t want to veer off the trail and get all banged up and bloodied on the rocks of self-pity and discouragement, you need Christian community. Isolation (as well as the kind of groan-inducing indigestion that follows the overconsumption of curry) came with the Fall. But with Christ and others by our side, we don’t have to let the Fall call the shots anymore. We can invite others in and share in God’s victory together. If we’d only be brave enough to talk about it.

• When’s the last time you shared something encouraging that God has done in your life with someone whose shoulders seemed to be sagging?
• How has someone else’s story of God’s work in their life increased your faith?
• Why do you think you sometimes shy away from sharing what Christ is doing in your square inch of the world?