What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stranger.

                           “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stranger”

Yes. You read it correctly. Stranger!

Ever seen that person sitting quietly in the corner of the church? You paid them no notice, right? Or maybe you smiled. Or nodded. And then they bowed their head or averted their gaze to something else? And you did too? Or maybe you just say “hi” to the person in the next seat or pew. And they smile and say “hi” back to you. But no one pursues any further conversation.

Emotional battles, even ones fought long ago, do take their toll on people. And people who have fought these battles, although they don’t necessarily become withdrawn, always seem to prefer their own company. They sit quietly in the corner of the pub, or the church, or the cinema, or the coffee shop. And they quietly watch all that is going on around them.

They are seen as the “strange” ones. In days gone by people used to refer to them as “a bit odd”. “He, or she’s, alright. But they’re just a bit odd”, they would say. But really, people never really know of the battles that have been fought in someone’s mind. Addiction. Divorce. Loss of a loved one. They have seen enough pain, hurt and sorrow to last several lifetimes and they just want to be left alone to carry on their daily routine. Not judged, or pitied, or included. Just left to carry on their business without much fuss.

You see, these emotional battles of the mind have no winners. No one ever wins them. We only have survivors. People who have survived whichever horror that came to them in previous years. You never overcome an addiction, for it’s always waiting there in the background. Waiting for you to slip and lapse again. You never win in a divorce because everyone always loses out. Whether it be in the security of the home, the financial situation or the trust and dependability of family. You never win in a bereavement, the loss is ever present in your mind. No-one ever wins. People just survive and learn to live with it.

Two men in the Bible just wanted to be left alone. In the O.T. we find Gideon, a shepherd, threshing wheat and minding his own business. He was threshing the wheat beside a winepress so that no-one would notice him. (Jdg 6:11). But the Angel of The Lord came and sat under an oak tree and spoke with him. And in the N.T. we have Nathanael sitting under a tree minding his own business (Jn 1:48) when Philip came to meet him and brought him to meet Jesus. But Jesus knew him, “An Israelite in whom there is no guile”. Nathneal asked Jesus, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “I sent Philip to get you. I knew who you were when you were sitting under the tree” (paraphrased).

We don’t know much of what the backgrounds of Gideon and Nathanael were. We don’t know their histories or what life-battles they fought. We just know that they wanted to be left alone. But God had other plans for them. Bigger plans.

We do know that Gideon went on to lead an army that defeated the Midianites with 300 chosen men. He became one of the 13 Judges of Israel (Read of him in the O.T. book of The Judges, Ch 6). And we do know that Nathanael was one of the twelve disciples. He was one of the seven who saw and met Jesus on the beach cooking breakfast after His resurection.

So, look at that stranger sitting quietly in the corner. They have hang-ups and issues that you cannot perhaps even comprehend. But they also have strengths that you can never know about. Strengths to overcome certain adversities in life.

So keep on smiling at them. Keep on saying Hi. Keep on shaking their hand. They need it.