John Newton wrote, “If, as I go home, a child has dropped a halfpenny, and if, by giving it another, I can wipe away its tears, I feel I have done something. I should be glad to do greater things; but I will not neglect this.”

These days, it’s not hard to find someone in need of comfort: A care-worn cashier in a grocery store working a second job to make ends meet; a refugee longing for home; a single mother whose flood of worries has washed away her hope; a lonely old man who fears he has outlived his usefulness.

But what are we to do? “Blessed is he who considers the poor,” wrote David (Ps. 41:1 nkjv). Even if we can’t alleviate the poverty of those we meet along the way we can consider them—a verb that means “to pay attention.”

We can let people know we care. We can treat them with courtesy and respect, though they may be testy or tiresome. We can listen with interest to their stories. And we can pray for them or with them—the most helpful and healing act of all.

Remember the old paradox Jesus gave us when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Paying attention pays off, for we’re happiest when we give ourselves away. Consider the poor.

I know of a man who passionately desires to be a pastor. He’s worked in youth ministry, camp ministry, and even alongside pastors in the church. He’s well-regarded by those with whom he interacts, having willingly volunteered his time while faithfully loving his wife and children. And yet, he’s been unable to find the right place to serve fulltime. Several churches “nearly” called on him. But he’s yet to receive a ministry role in any official capacity.

In such circumstances, it can be hard to accept God’s assignment for our lives. We have our ideas about how our vocations should proceed. And we have good desires—we want to use our gifts and serve Christ to the best of our abilities (see 1 Corinthians 12). But then something happens to prevent us from using our gifts in the way we believeGod wants us to use them, in ways that seem perfect to us. Such experiences can be both discouraging and disorienting.

In Mark 5:1-20, we read the story of a man healed from demon possession—a man perhaps confused by the assignment Jesus gave him. After Jesus healed him, he “begged” to go with the Savior and follow Him (Mark 5:18). But Jesus told him, “No” (Mark 5:19).

I imagine that, initially, the man must have been disappointed. But Jesus thought it best that he return to his family to tell them how merciful God had been and how much He had done for him.

For us as well, it can be hard to surrender our ministry assignments to God, to wholeheartedly say, “I want your will to be done” (Luke 22:42). During those times, it helps to lean on Him and other believers in Jesus to remind us that God is indeed good and that He’s using us for His kingdom right where we are.

Every Saturday our family lines the edges of the racecourse to cheer on my daughter as she runs with her high school cross-country team. After crossing the finish line, the athletes stream out to rejoin their teammates, coaches, and parents. Crowds engulf the finishers—often more than 300 of them—making it difficult to find one person among so many. We scan the crowd excitedly until we find her, eager to put our arms around the one athlete we came to watch: our much-loved daughter.

After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, God returned the Jews to Jerusalem and Judah. Isaiah describes the delight God has in them, and the work of preparing the highways for their pilgrimage home and the gates to receive them back. God reaffirms His calling of them as His holy people and restores their honor with a new name, “Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted” (Isa. 62:12). He sought them all from the scattered reaches of Babylon to bring them back to Himself.

Like the children of Israel, we too are God’s beloved children, earnestly sought after by Him. Though our sin once caused us isolation from Him, Jesus’s sacrifice paves our way back to Him. He searches for each of us intently among all the others, waiting expectantly to fold us into a heartfelt embrace.

God can also do things in unexpected ways. When we read of God speaking to Elijah in 1 Kings 19, we’re tempted to think, Surely God is present in the earthquake and the fire, in such mighty works of nature—that has to be God! (1 Kings 19:11-12). That assumption seems logical, but Elijah found that God isn’t limited to speaking through one type of circumstance or another. The prophet learned instead to focus on God’s voice—not his difficult circumstances.

I often over-rely on circumstances to determine whether God is at work or not and find myself saying things like, “I felt this sense of peace, and so it must be God,” or “Everything came together so easily that God must have been at work.” Events in life can be used by Him to guide us, but it’s vital that we carefully, prayerfully consider what to do.

Moses didn’t feel a sense of peace when called by God and neither did Gideon (Exodus 3:11; Judges 6:15). The best way for us to sense God’s leading isn’t by focusing on our feelings or circumstances, but by carefully seeking God’s wisdom. The Holy Spirit can use prayer, Scripture, and the godly counsel of others to help us make the right decisions—even if they’re unexpected.

When I reflect on the times in my life when I’ve been most devoted to digging deeply into Scripture, I’m struck by the joy, courage, contentment, and confidence in God that resulted. For example, when I was in high school, I seldom went anywhere without a pack of index cards on which I’d handwritten Bible verses. I was a competitive distance runner at the time, and as I logged many long miles I carried the verses with me and committed passage after passage to memory. As I meditated on Scripture the miles flew by and my life, faith, and attitude were renewed, shaping a heart and mind bent toward God.

When we take in Scripture, God’s love and power are poured out on us through His Spirit. Psalm 119 teaches that joy results as we walk with integrity through seeking Him with all of our hearts and following the instructions God has revealed. “Joyful are people . . . who follow the instructions of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1). We glorify Him and experience His pleasure as we refrain from compromising with evil, walking only in His paths and reflecting His will with our obedience to His commands (Psalm 119:3-5).

God longs for us to know and glorify Him by hiding Scripture in our hearts and by obeying His commands rather than straying from them (Psalm 119:11). We’re invited to experience deeper intimacy with Him and the delight the Bible offers by reciting aloud the regulations He’s given us, rejoicing in His laws as much as riches, studying His commandments, and remembering and reflecting on His ways (Psalm 119:13-16).

Let’s take in Scripture and recite it aloud or silently in communication with God. He will fill us with His wisdom and truth to guide us through the ever-changing seasons of life.

In the summer of 2016, my niece convinced me to play Pokémon Go—a game played on a smartphone, using the phone’s camera. The object of the game is to capture little creatures called Pokémon. When one appears in the game, a red and white ball also appears on the phone’s screen. To capture a Pokémon, the player has to flick the ball toward it with the movement of a finger. Pokémon are more easily caught, however, by using a lure to attract them.

Pokémon characters aren’t the only ones who can be lured away. In his New Testament letter to believers, James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us that we “are dragged away by [our] own evil desire” (1:14, emphasis added). In other words, our desires work with temptation to lure us down a wrong path. Though we may be tempted to blame God or even Satan for our problems, our real danger lies within.

But there is good news. We can escape the lure of temptation by talking to God about the things that tempt us. Though “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone,” as James explains in 1:13, He understands our human desire to do what’s wrong. We have only to ask for the wisdom God promised to provide (1:1–6).

Renowned psychotherapist and physician Alfred Adler stressed the need to understand individuals within their social context. Calling for compassion and empathy in relating to others, he described empathy as “seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and feeling with the heart of another.”

Adler was not the first person to advocate the value of walking a mile in another’s shoes. Two millennia earlier, the apostle Paul told us to “be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). He also instructed us not to be selfish or proud but to humbly put other people first and to be concerned for their good (1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:3-4).

Paul reminded us that Jesus did exactly those things and more. It’s our joy and aim to follow His perfect example. “In your relationships with one another,” Paul wrote, “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NIV). Jesus, fully God, became human so He could walk a mile in our shoes (Philippians 2:6-8).

Because we’re made of flesh and blood, Jesus also became flesh and blood (Philippians 2:7). He became one of us so that He could suffer for us (Hebrews 2:9). Only by becoming like us could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who held the power of death. Jesus had “to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that . . . he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

Jesus became like us, and He fully understands and empathizes with us as only He can. We can now come boldly before our gracious Savior and experience the grace and help we deeply need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

My friend Jaime works for a huge international corporation. In his early days with the company, a man came by his desk, struck up a conversation, and asked Jaime what he did there. After telling the man about his work, Jaime asked the man his name. “My name is Rich,” he replied.

“Nice to meet you,” Jaime answered. “And what do you do around here?”

“Oh, I am the owner.”

Jaime suddenly realized that this casual, humble conversation was his introduction to one of the richest men in the world.

In this day of self-glorification and the celebration of “me,” this little story can serve as a reminder of Paul’s important words in the book of Philippians: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit” (2:3). People who turn their attention to others and not on themselves have the characteristics Paul mentions.

When we “value others above [ourselves],” we demonstrate Christlike humility (v. 3). We mirror Jesus, who came not “to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). When we take “the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:7), we have the mindset of Jesus (v. 5).

As we interact with others today, let’s not look on our own interests alone but also “to the interests of the others” (v. 4).

As a young girl, I invited a friend to browse with me through a gift shop near my home. She shocked me, though, by shoving a handful of colorful crayon-shaped barrettes into my pocket and yanking me out the door of the shop without paying for them. Guilt gnawed at me for a week before I approached my mom—my confession pouring out as quickly as my tears.

Grieved over my bad choice of not resisting my friend, I returned the stolen items, apologized, and vowed never to steal again. The owner told me never to come back. But because my mom forgave me and assured me that I had done my best to make things right, I slept peacefully that night.

King David also rested in forgiveness through confession (Ps. 32:1–2). He had hidden his sins against Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Sam. 11–12) until his “strength was sapped” (Ps. 32:3–4). But once David refused to “cover up” his wrongs, the Lord erased his guilt (v. 5). God protected him “from trouble” and wrapped him in “songs of deliverance” (v. 7). David rejoiced because the “Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him” (v. 10).

We can’t choose the consequences of our sins or control people’s responses when we confess and seek forgiveness. But the Lord can empower us to enjoy freedom from the bondage of sin and peace through confession, as He confirms that our guilt is gone—forever.

In his memoir Townie, novelist Andre Dubus III shared that his father, also a renowned writer, would write every single morning. After he finished, “He’d count how many words he’d gotten and record the number. After each total, whether it was fifteen hundred or fifty, he wrote ‘Thank you.’ ” This writer had learned the art of gratitude, and it shaped his work—allowing him to see and then write about rich experiences of hope, humanity, and grace.

Luke’s gospel suggests that gratitude is a necessary part of our ability to receive the deepest healing God desires to give. Recounting a story of ten lepers who “stood at a distance” and cried out for Jesus to help them, Luke tells us that Jesus told the ten to “go show [themselves] to the priests” (Luke 17:12,14). Miraculously, on their trek to the temple, “they were [all] cleansed” (Luke 17:14).

Though ten were cured, only one returned to say thanks (Luke 17:15). Luke takes care to make certain we understand that the only one who did return was a Samaritan (a religious outsider considered unworthy). In other words, this was the very last person we’d expect to come to Jesus. Yet there he was at Jesus’ feet, effusive with gratitude.

“Stand up and go,” Jesus said to the grateful man. “Your faith has healed you” (Luke 17:19). But wait—the man had already been physically healed, along with the other nine. Apparently there was a deeper healing the man received from Jesus, a healing of body and soul received by faith.

Jesus is kind to us all, but he won’t force anything on us. A posture of gratitude prompted by Him opens our heart and makes us willing to receive more of what God is so eager to give.

“We’ve created more information in the last five years than in all of human history before it, and it’s coming at us all the time” (Daniel Levitin, author of The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload).  “In a sense,” Levitin says, “we become addicted to the hyperstimulation.” The constant barrage of news and knowledge can dominate our minds. In today’s environment of media bombardment, it becomes increasingly difficult to find time to be quiet, to think, and to pray.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God,” reminding us of the necessity to take time to focus on the Lord. Many people find that a “quiet time” is an essential part of each day—a time to read the Bible, pray, and consider the goodness and greatness of God.

When we, like the writer of Psalm 46, experience the reality that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (v. 1), it drives our fear away (v. 2), shifts our focus from the world’s turmoil to God’s peace, and creates a quiet confidence that our Lord is in control (v. 10).

No matter how chaotic the world may become around us, we can find quietness and strength in our heavenly Father’s love and power.