What's Wrong

 I noticed the body language of a teenage girl in our Bible study last night. It was obvious she was struggling with something. I stopped the study and asked if she was alright. She indicated that she was fine. I didn't buy it. I went back to teaching anyway. She was not herself. Not engaged. Distracted. Hurting. 

We finished our study, and I asked the girl again if she was okay. She said she was, but I looked in her eyes and told her that I did not believe her. The easy thing to do would have been to take her at her word and dismiss the group in prayer. I felt impressed to persist. Then the truth came out. She told us a friend of hers had recently been shot in the metroplex. I asked how the friend was doing, and she teared up saying he died. An 18-year-old young man another victim to a senseless murder. We prayed for the heartbroken girl in our group. 

If you read the room, you will often notice people who are not doing well. You can see it on their countenance. You can witness it in their body language. If you listen closely, you will even hear it in their voice. People are hurting. They carry heavy burdens. They struggle with mental health. They have broken hearts. These people need ministry but will seldom ask for it. If you do not pay attention, you may miss them. You can be so self-absorbed that you fail to notice those who struggle around you. Jesus noticed struggling people all the time. He made time to notice. He took the time to get involved and to minister to such people. 

Face the facts. Getting involved with struggling people can be inconvenient. It might take a little time to listen. It may require some heavy seasons of intercession. It might require some difficult conversations. It might require you to get your mind off your own problems for a while to help someone else with theirs. These are things we are supposed to do. 

Jesus stopped to help the leper in Matthew 8:1-3. He helped the man with the withered hand in Mark 3:1-5. In Mark 3:9-11, He healed many and cast out demons from others. In Mark 5 He cast out a demon from a man living in a cemetery, healed a woman who had been sick for 12 years, and then raised a 12-year-old girl from the dead. None of these incidents was convenient. 

Jesus has something we do not. He is omniscient. He knows everything. He does not have to ask anyone what is wrong. He already knows. Because we do not know everything we have to ask. Do we care enough to ask people around us what they are struggling with? Do we love enough to persist if they do not tell us the truth? A lot of people could be helped if we just ask the two-word question, "What's wrong?" If we want to be like Jesus, we will ask that question and help people in His name.