Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands

Many days, I sit in my office chair listening to the story of another, asking questions to elicit meaning and offering strategies with deep concern for my client’s wellbeing. There’s a heaviness in the room as they express the hurt and pain this world has offered them. There’s no question that suffering exists, and we try our best to come up with effective strategies to help us cope with the continuum of mild symptoms all the way to tragedy.

And yet, as I sit there, I know coping strategies are not enough.

I feel compelled to share a truth that has changed my life in hopes that it might change theirs. There’s only one thing I can offer that will transform a life in a way that nothing else can. It does not guarantee a preferred outcome or remove suffering from this world, but it does offer an everlasting hope. That one thing is the salvation found in Jesus Christ and a life surrendered to Him.

The beautiful reality is that this is not a ministry reserved for licensed clinicians. Every believer adopted into God’s family is called into this work.

In his book, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp explains that a healthy church culture recognizes every believer as an instrument in God’s hands for change. Once we have been brought from death to life by the redeeming power of Christ, we carry the privilege and responsibility of helping others see Him more clearly. Because we have been forgiven, comforted, loved, and changed by God, we now extend the same grace to others.

In 2 Corinthians 1, we are reminded that God, in His compassion, comforts us so that we can comfort those in trouble. I often reflect on the fact that God loved me enough to pursue me, and that pursuit compels me to pursue others in love. What would it look like if we loved others the way God loves us?

From the beginning of Scripture (Genesis 1), we see the war within the human heart—the temptation to worship ourselves and creation rather than the Creator. But God, in His sovereignty, saw us in our sin and didn’t leave us there. The entire Bible points to His redemptive plan fulfilled in Jesus.

When ministering to others, we must look beneath the surface struggles to the deeper issues of the heart. Often, we are gently calling one another away from self-rule and back toward humble worship of the Creator. Even after salvation, believers continue to wrestle with sin, and we are called to walk together toward the cross again and again.

So, what does this look like practically? Tripp offers helpful direction:

1. Put on Christ daily. Humble yourself before God (James 1) and experience His love, grace, and forgiveness.

2. Love others with truth. Gently help others see their heart condition with compassion, pointing them to Christ.

3. Give God the glory. Join with others in their pain, tell relatable stories, and highlight how God’s character remains steady.

   
   

Ministering to others takes time, but it is time well spent. We come alongside fellow believers, slow down enough to truly listen, and join with them in the realities of this broken world. Then we gently point them back to the God who offers hope like no other.

Simply put, we receive His love and grace and then partner with our Creator in extending that same love and grace to others.

What an incredible honor that is.

-Brianna McMillan