Do you know how to discern the prodding of the Holy Spirt? Does fear sometimes prevent you from approaching people you know the Lord wants you to reach out to? The life of discipleship is a constant call to go into uncomfortable places in order to help Christ rescue souls from darkness. He uses each one of us in His great plan for the salvation of souls. Our role is to allow Him to work through us and to trust that He will provide the graces we need to be courageous and bold when a moment of need arises.
Each day we encounter many different people. These are the people the Lord puts in our path for His purposes. There are moments He wants us to encounter another person in their need in order to shed light in some area of their life. The first sign of a prod from the Holy Spirit may be something as simple as we notice a person. We see something is going on with them and begin to pay attention. The Holy Spirit has turned His gaze towards them through us, and He wants us to truly see that person. It is from this awareness that we will be directed by the Holy Spirit as to how we are to interact with them.
Once the Holy Spirit has made us aware of this person, and we get the sense we are supposed to reach out to them, we must fight against the tendency to dismiss it or walk away out of fear. Rather, we must become more in tune with the Holy Spirit’s working and surrender that moment and encounter to Him. We must ask for the courage to do what is needed.
An example that comes to mind is an encounter my husband recently had at a local greasy spoon. As he mulled over where to stop for breakfast that morning, he kept finding excuses not to go through a quick drive-thru like he normally would when in a hurry. He made the decision to sit down at a nearby diner. As he sat down, he noticed an elderly gentleman sitting at the end of the counter.
This was the moment the Holy Spirit brought this man to my husband’s attention. It was the sign it was time to pay attention. My husband noticed that the man looked heavily burdened and hunched over his breakfast. This observation allowed the Holy Spirit to prod him further into the situation. At first, my husband didn’t say anything, but he kept getting the interior sense that he was supposed to say something to this gentleman.
This is the time when we must lean into fortitude and trust in the Lord. It is not easy to reach out to strangers, but we have to remember that it is not about us. It is about how the Lord wants to reach someone else. The minute we make it about us, we have turned from serving the Lord to egotism. The Lord will provide everything we need in a given situation if we lean on Him. This was not the first time this had happened to my husband—or me—so he knew what was happening.
My husband turned to the man and asked him how he was doing. The gentleman answered back that he was frustrated with his truck because the cold weather was causing issues. My husband said he understood. The conversation trailed off quickly. This is the moment when prayerful union with the Holy Spirit mattered most. Since my husband was open to the Holy Spirit, he knew the truck issue was not really what was going on. So, he gently prodded the gentleman and mentioned that it seemed like something else was burdening him.
This knowledge proved to be Spirit led. The gentleman responded that he was right. His daughter had died the night before from a battle with cancer. His wife had died a few months prior. My husband was able to offer condolences but also to go even further, guided by the Spirit. The gentleman got up to leave and my husband turned to him and said: “God sees you. He wants you to know that He sees you.” My husband then took his name and told him that he would be praying for him.
This gentleman was engulfed in grief. The Lord wanted him to simply know that He is with him in his grief. That was all this gentleman was ready for in that fresh agony. My husband simply extended that word to him. We get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s working when we overanalyze a situation, give into fear, or impose ourselves. We are simply meant to give what the Lord asks, nothing more and nothing less.
There are people today, and every day, who need each one of us to live a life in tune with the Holy Spirit. This begins by living a fervent, dedicated prayer life. This prayer gives us the openness to His working in the lives of those around us. It also gives us the strength to trust that He will provide the fortitude we need to go into awkward and uncomfortable places. He is in control.
Prayer also gives us the humility to accept moments of wrong discernment. This happens too! This is a part of the spiritual life, and it should not discourage us or cause us to quit. No matter what, we are meant to keep trying to reach out to others, so the Comforter can provide salve for their wounds and lead souls back to Himself.
What a tremendous gift we have been given as His disciples to go into the broken places in people’s lives to shed the light of Christ. We simply need to open our hearts to the working of the Holy Spirit, and He will do the rest. Be on the lookout for the souls Christ wants to reach through you.
Unfurl the sails, and let God steer us where He will. –Saint Bede the Venerable
Photo by Josh Eckstein on Unsplash
