Compassion 101
- Check your gavel at the door! Remember, if you're prone to be judgmental or condemning, you cannot help them!
- Never let 'em see you sweat! Don't let them see your reactions. React internally, not externally. Always allow the Lord's unconditional love to flow through you in response to anything they might throw at you. After you leave you can react until the cows come home! "But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." 1 Thessalonians. 5:8
- Don't let 'em ruffle your feathers! Understand that Satan seeks to destroy and can use the wounded hearts of the post-abortive against you. Look for genuine contrite hearts and encourage their mourning. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
- Go with the flow! Allow yourself to cry along with them. God can use your tears to reinforce your compassion to their hurting hearts. Many women are accustomed to an accusing voice inside their head that tells them you are judging them. Jesus cried with Mary and Martha when Lazarus died even though He knew that He would raise him from the dead. As Romans 12:15 says, "... mourn with those who mourn."
- Do you hear what I hear? Teach them to recognize God's voice. Many of these women are prone to self-condemnation. It is imperative that they become grounded in the character of God. This will help them understand and hear the loving voice of God's encouragement through the Holy Spirit. "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." 1 John 3:19-20
- Batten down the hatches! Secure intercessory prayer coverage. Enlist people to pray for you and for those to whom you are ministering. Don't give out full names for the sake of confidentiality. First names or pseudonyms are sufficient. God knows their names and their situations, and we know that "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (James 5:16)
- Go with God! If God has called you to this ministry, He will equip you. Your job is to follow where He leads, to obey what He commands, and He will take care of the results. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire... Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." 1 Thessalonians. 5:16-24
| Adapted from Ramah International's materials." |