Have you ever been stuck in a situation, hoping, and praying that someone might turn up and help? Maybe you’ve been using maps on your phone, and it runs out of battery just as you arrive in a part of town you have never passed through before. Perhaps you’ve been stranded on the side of a highway with no fuel and no idea where the nearest petrol station might be.

We often hear stories of people turning up at just the right time to help us out of these very situations and are left to wonder if the help was sent from God or if it was just a happy coincidence and the kindness of a stranger.

Often, I am on the side of hoping and praying that God will help me out of a situation rather than being the kind stranger offering to help someone else in need. Not that I have never had opportunity, but rather that I have convinced myself “I don’t have time” or “someone more qualified will come along and help.”

Perhaps a slight change of perspective would change my attitude… Would I stop if Jesus needed help? Would I want someone to stop if I were the one in need? Even if I can’t ‘fix’ the specific problem, would simply offering whatever help I can give make a difference?

Paul told the church at Philippi, “…In humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:3-4, NIV)

And Jesus told us simply to, “Do to others what you would have them do to you…” (Matthew 7:12, NIV)

One of the ways we can demonstrate our love for the Lord is to be compassionate and caring towards those we encounter in our day to day lives and perhaps instead of being left to ponder whether God would send help for us, we can leave a stranger wondering if God sent us to them.