The Barrick family was forever changed when a drunk driver crashed into their car at 80 miles an hour. Linda Barrick shares how we can still find purpose in the midst of pain and suffering. She refers to recent tragedies that have taken place in and around the United States.
“Right now, especially with all of the hurricanes and what just happened in Vegas, people are hurting, they are scared, they are afraid. Now is the best time to start sharing Jesus with people, but also saying, ‘How can I pray for you?’”
“One thing that God has showed us. Instead of just saying ‘I’m going to pray for you,’ actually pray a prayer, text a prayer, or email a prayer to your loved ones who are hurting, struggling, and living in these places to just show them the power of prayer.”
“Also, just to think of ways we can really praise God because He is all powerful, He is sovereign, and to not let ourselves just get so anxious and so worried. But people are worried about their future and so what better time to share Jesus with them.”
At a time when our country seems divided in so many ways, Linda reminds us that tragedy often pulls us together.
“You’re praying for people, you’re encouraging each other, you’re helping each other, etc. In Las Vegas, for example, just how people were saving each other’s lives and pulling them into their cars. In the midst of tragedy, all those things that don’t matter fall away and what’s really important is, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Your family is important, your loved ones are important. All those other petty things don’t matter anymore.”
God wants to use us just as we are, broken and scarred, because He has greater purposes for us in mind.
“We all have hurts, wounds, maybe broken homes, broken dreams, and yet if we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit is alive and perfect inside of us. It doesn’t matter how broken we are because in our weakness, He is strong.”
We just need to ask God to use our pain for His purposes and He will. Linda says that is how He turns our deepest wounds into beauty marks.
Linda Barrick, author of , and , is an inspirational speaker and founder of Hope Out Loud, an international ministry. Linda leads a weekly Bible study of over 500 women in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she lives with her husband Andy and their children Jennifer and Joshua.
From broken to beautiful
