Anonymous said...
In the past few weeks, God has put a certain person's name in my head. Instead of taking the opportunity to stop and pray for this person, I just pushed the thought out of my head. This is someone from my past that I didn't necessarily want to think about. Now there has been a terrible tragedy and this person, and several others, are dead. What if I had stopped to pray for him?? Could I have prevented something so terrible from happening? How do we know when it's God sending us a message or when it's just our own thoughts?? I feel so guilty for not recognizing the need to pray for this person.
5:02 PM, February 21, 2005
posted by Dr James D Harless @ 6:02 AM
5 Comments:
Jim said...
Wow! I am sure you are hurting from the whole ordeal! You no doubt having a loving and caring heart! Let me give you just a couple of things to think about.
1. First, ask God to release you from the guilt you are obviously feeling. You did not cause the tragedy ... but you need to know God forgives and loves! You are carrying a burden that is not yours to carry.
2. Could your prayer have changed things ... I would certainly hope so or prayer is useless. But I am not sure that the Holy Spirit only wanted you to pray for the person. Maybe He wanted you to make some kind of contact. God often calls us to reach out to those we really don't want to ... I believe that for several reasons ... one being to bring us together and be rid of anything that might be a barrier to fellowship (in the case of two Christians) or witness (in case the other person is not a Christian)
3. How can you tell it is from God and not just yourself? ... Great question! The thing I use to determine the difference is this question ... "If I follow through on this ... will it bring God glory." If it brings God glory ... then it is probably from God ... but even if it was not from God ... it is still the right thing to do!
4. Although you did not pray for the person ... I am sure that he or she had family and friends. Pray for them while they go through the crisis of loss! You might even consider sending them a card or something to let them know there is a Christian who cares about them!
Keep me informed as to how you are doing! I will be praying for you that you receive the release from guilt and that you find ways to minister to the person's family.
Love Them Into The Kingdom
Jim
6:06 AM, February 22, 2005
I am having a hard time asking God to release me from my guilt. The ramifications (for the victims of the tragedy) aren't temporary, they are eternal. While God can forgive me, what about the lost souls in this situation? I have literally made myself sick with feelings of guilt, grief, worry, sadness, etc. I want to forgive myself and get past the guilt, but I think it will take time. I am praying about attending calling hours Friday to reach out to the family. I will definitely be praying for them during this very difficult time. Thanks, Jim, for your words and prayer.
Dear Anonymous ... I am glad you are praying for the family! I am sure that will help them ... and you! Let me suggest you go to our web page ... tri-countycc.net ... click on 'Sermon Archives' and open "Losing the Weight of Guilt." See if that might help some. In the meanwhile ... I am still praying! Please keep in contact!
Also remember this ... the salvation of the person of concern does not rest on your following up on the Holy Spirit's prompting. You are only one of several that God has used to convict this person. HIs or her salvation rests on their response to those convictions. You may have missed an opportunity ... but others have been involved as well!
I read the "Guilt" sermon from the website. It was a good sermon and really helpful. I prayed a lot about going to the funeral home today. I felt like it was something I needed to do. The only one I knew there was the person's mother. She was glad to see me and hugged me for a long time. I only had time to say "I'm praying for you" before someone else walked up. I stayed upset for awhile, but after having some time to calm down this afternoon I am feeling better. You can be assured that I will be listening for God's prompting and won't miss the opportunity to pray for someone like that again! Thank you for your prayers and advice.
Nearly every day I have thoughts of the family left behind and wonder how they're dealing with things after a little time has passed. I pray for them as often as I think of them. I thought getting rid of the guilt feelings would take more time, but I have to say that I am not feeling guilty anymore. I still feel a great sadness for the loss of life, and (most likely) the loss of eternal life of this particular person. I just keep praying that his parents, siblings, children, friends, etc. will come to know Christ and find comfort in Him. I want to be even closer to Christ in my thoughts, through reading His word, and in my daily activities so I won't miss the opportunity to pray for or witness to another person. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue growing in my relationship with Christ. I am also thankful for this way to ask questions and express feelings that I might not otherwise have the opportunity to do.
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