Weekly Devotional - Marissa Lee

Speaking Their Language
One of my favorite parts about Pentecost is that God didn’t expect everyone to suddenly understand the same language. Instead, He met people where they were. Every person listening heard the message in a way that felt personal, familiar, and understandable to them. I love that because it reminds me that connection often starts with understanding.
We all carry different experiences that shape the way we communicate with people. Someone who has walked through grief can speak to another grieving person in a way others simply can’t. Someone who has struggled with anxiety, addiction, loneliness, heartbreak, or feeling lost understands the language behind those emotions. There’s something powerful about hearing, “me too,” from someone who truly gets it.

I think sometimes we view our past struggles as things to hide or move on from as quickly as possible, but God often uses those exact experiences to help us reach people. The places where God has brought healing in your life may become the very places where someone else finds hope. Your story matters. Your experiences matter. Even the hard parts.

Paul talks about becoming “all things to all people” not by changing who he was, but by meeting people where they were. That’s what Jesus constantly did too. He connected with people personally. He understood their hearts before He spoke to their situations.

Not everyone will relate to your story, and that’s okay. But there are people God has specifically placed in your path because you do understand their language. Sometimes encouragement doesn’t come from having the perfect words. Sometimes it simply comes from someone saying, “I understand. I’ve been there too.”

“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
1 Corinthians 9:22

Reflection Question
Who in your life may need encouragement from someone who truly understands what they’re walking through?

-Marissa