Good Support. Part 2

what does good support look like? a good bra makes you look, well, good. that's good support. i have AWESOME support AROUND me. (don't even get me started on the sad state of my chest-al region...)but my support system makes me look goooooood.
lots of people think i am a lucky person. i am lucky to be married to chris. i am lucky to be able to love ALL of my in-laws. i am financially lucky. etc. etc.
but the thing i chalk all this up to is that i have a network of people who pray for me. a lot. i know my mom prays for me and my 4 siblings a lot. i know chris' grandparents pray for us alot. as do his parents. all four of em. and then i even have friends who pray for me. it's amazing.

right now i am reading the Bible chronologically in a year. that means i usually read 3 to 4 chapters a day. it's easy to read for the sake of reading just so i can check that off of my list of things to do. but i am actually getting a lot out of it. for some reason, my schedule has me reading Job and Matthew. that's not chronological, but whatev. i am doing as the reading plan tells me to do. these two book don't really go together. and that bothered me, until i was able to apply lessons from both on how to be a good friend.

in chapter 8 of Matthew is the story of the centurion who has the sick servant at home. the centurion's faith provokes Jesus to heal his servant: "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." (v.13) then in chapter 9, there are some friends who bring their paralytic friend to Jesus: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.'" (v.2) the servant and the paralytic did not ask for help or healing. it was their friends and master respectively who came before the Lord and asked for healing for them. this is the kind of friend i am striving to be.

and then i am also reading Job. if you know the story of Job, it is about a guy who is in the midst of some serious suffering, and he has these 3 friends who are 'trying to help him'. but they don't help. they make things worse. but sometimes as you are reading what they are saying, it kinda sounds like they are giving pretty good advice. not so says the Lord! The Lord says to Eliphaz: "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as mt servant Job has... My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly." (Job 42: 7,8)

i am very fortunately not identifying with Job right now (thank you Jesus!) but i definitely am trying not to identify with his friends either. i unfortunately have some friends who are kinda in Job's shoes. things just aren't right right now. so i am in the midst of trying to be there, give good advice and support. but the best thing i can do is pray with faith. cause then it's not about me, or my friend, but about Him who is able to heal and fix and create and comfort and change. i can't remember who said this, but i think about it when i pray: the power is not in the one who is praying but in the One who hears them.