Recently I have done a lot of interstate travel. Several times I noticed a terrible accident on the other side of the interstate. Sometimes two lanes were shut down and the traffic on the other side had slowed down to a crawl. My wife and I prayed for the victims of the accident and were very thankful that we were not experiencing the delay that was occurring on the other side. Perhaps you have experienced a similar relief that a tragedy, a trial, or some kind of heartbreak was happening on the other side of the road and not in your own life.
Feeling kind of selfish with my relief, I came up with some biblical principles that can guide us in our thoughts regarding difficulties that other-side people are experiencing. First of all we should pray for those who have experienced some sort of crash or life-delaying difficulty. All through the Bible God’s people are challenged to pray for one another. Secondly we need to help those other-side people who pass our way if it be possible. The classic story of the Good Samaritan teaches all of us that our eyes, our compassion, and our assistance needs to be readily available to those we pass by in life. The third biblical principle that we need to learn is that the crash is often going to happen on our side of the road. God has not promised that our lives will always be smooth and tragedy free. In His sovereignty He sometimes allows us to experience some kind of suffering. Jesus said in: John 16:33: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”. Peter also challenges us: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
Looking at others with compassion, lifting others in prayer, and laboring for others in assistance should always be in our roadside toolkit. Because often as we travel on the road of life we will be the ones on the other side.