Ben Seewald, husband of Jessa Duggar of the new TLC reality show "Jill and Jessa: Counting On," says there will always be people in need of help.
"Someone is weeping today without a shoulder to cry on. Maybe God wants that shoulder to be mine. Someone is hurting today without anyone to comfort them. Maybe I can comfort them in Jesus' name," Seewald writes on his blog. "Someone is lonely today and needs a friend to walk with. Maybe God means me to be that friend. Someone has their heart burdened today but no one will hear them. Maybe I can be a listening ear in Jesus' name."
However, Seewald acknowledges that people are only human, and even those who want to provide comfort and support sometimes feel pained, lonely, burdened, and weak themselves. "How can I bless anyone when I myself am in desperate need of help?" he asks.
Fortunately, Seewald says there is a God who makes up for people's flaws. Whatever people lack, God will make up for it.
"I realized that the One who wipes away our tears also shares our grief. The One who comforts us also experiences our pain in the most intimate way. The One who is a companion in our loneliness knows what it is to be despised, rejected, and utterly forsaken. The One who listens to us knows what it feels like to be misunderstood," he says.
Because God bears people's burdens on His very own back, He will strengthen people to help others as well. Seewald then shares the Bible passage from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, which reads, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
