One thing I have prayed consistently over the past few years is that God would increase my capacity to love, that I would love like He loves and see people the way He sees them.  I have found that the biggest growth in my heart for other people has come through shared trials and circumstances.  There are situations we go through that define who we are – that define our character, our integrity, our faith in God, our confidence in ourselves as sons and daughters of the King.  And God promises in Romans 8:28 that He will work all these things together for our good.  Not just some of them, all of them.  This includes all the junk, persecution, attacks from the enemy, attacks from the body of Christ, attacks from the people we love the most.  We should come out stronger and closer to God on the other side.

Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

It is such a radical blessing from God to come alongside other people as they walk through trials and persecution, through forgiveness and restoration, through sickness of heart and body.  When you feel like you can’t love people any more, God just blows the lid off..