Your staff brings me comfort.
Posted: Sat May 15, 2021 7:42 am
Day 13
The Staff
The most subtle use of the staff is to be in touch with someone who may just need a word of encouragement or a hug. These are ways of saying, Everything will be OK or I’m right beside you. These statements echo two of the most common messages God speaks to people in the Bible: “Do not be afraid” and “I am with you.” The staff represents these messages.
On a Sunday morning some fifteen years ago, a family stood up behind us in acknowledgement of attending our church service as visitors. At the conclusion of the service, we introduced ourselves and inquired about why they chose to visit. They explained their daughter had read a popular book written by our Senior Pastor and after researching his bio, discovered they lived close by the church. We then escorted their family to the front and introduced them to the author, our pastor. We got to know them better over lunch as families at a Wendy’s close by. That encounter was the start of a relationship that has grown in spite of our kids becoming adults, a retirement from the Navy, and a subsequent relocation and move from MD to Auburn, Alabama.
There’ s been an anointing over our relationship through the years. This is the same father who contacted me and asked if he could pay the wages so his son could work at Hope Builders. They’ve had some significant personal and family challenges through the years we’ve been friends together. I pray regularly for my friend David and his family. When I pray or a thought reminds me of my friend, from time to time the Spirit nudges me to get in touch. And I do. And countless times my friend says, “Wow, you don’t know how meaningful and timely this call is to me.” I think I actually do though. The Good Shephard always knows when I need the tug of his gentle staff. And his timing is always perfect.
Dave Dassoulas
dave@hopebuilders.com
The Staff
The most subtle use of the staff is to be in touch with someone who may just need a word of encouragement or a hug. These are ways of saying, Everything will be OK or I’m right beside you. These statements echo two of the most common messages God speaks to people in the Bible: “Do not be afraid” and “I am with you.” The staff represents these messages.
On a Sunday morning some fifteen years ago, a family stood up behind us in acknowledgement of attending our church service as visitors. At the conclusion of the service, we introduced ourselves and inquired about why they chose to visit. They explained their daughter had read a popular book written by our Senior Pastor and after researching his bio, discovered they lived close by the church. We then escorted their family to the front and introduced them to the author, our pastor. We got to know them better over lunch as families at a Wendy’s close by. That encounter was the start of a relationship that has grown in spite of our kids becoming adults, a retirement from the Navy, and a subsequent relocation and move from MD to Auburn, Alabama.
There’ s been an anointing over our relationship through the years. This is the same father who contacted me and asked if he could pay the wages so his son could work at Hope Builders. They’ve had some significant personal and family challenges through the years we’ve been friends together. I pray regularly for my friend David and his family. When I pray or a thought reminds me of my friend, from time to time the Spirit nudges me to get in touch. And I do. And countless times my friend says, “Wow, you don’t know how meaningful and timely this call is to me.” I think I actually do though. The Good Shephard always knows when I need the tug of his gentle staff. And his timing is always perfect.
Dave Dassoulas
dave@hopebuilders.com