Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Troubles and pain come to those who practice God’s presence, as they came to Jesus, but these seem trivial as compared to their new joyous experience. If we have spent our days with Him, we find that when earthquakes, fires, famines or other catastrophes threaten us, we are not terrified any more than Paul was in time of shipwreck. “Perfect love casteth
out fear.”
This booklet on the Game with Minutes is good for people suffering from illness at home or in hospitals. Nurses remind us that the thoughts of people turn toward God when sick as at no other time. Patients who are convalescing have many idle hours when their minds reach up toward God. Playing this game produces a perfect mental state for rapid
recovery.
Those who are seeking to be aware of God constantly have found that their former horror at death has vanished. We may have a new mystic intimacy with our departed loved ones, for though unseen to us, they are with Christ and since He is with us they are with us as well.”
Frank C. Laubach (1884-1970) in Letters By A Modern Mystic (Feedbooks: 2009) letter entitled, “Troubles.”
When the apostle Paul starts his second letter to the Corinthians, the year is around A.D. 57. The persecution against the Christians had heated up. By this time he been driven out of Ephesus. He could have felt discouraged.
Instead, he starts the letter with praise. God had been generous to him. God provided compassion and comfort. God wants to do the same for us, so that our generosity can bless people experiencing troubles.
Today Laubach instructs us on how to link the Game with Minutes to tough times. Brilliant. Life is full of hard times. Imagine the uncommon impact we can have when we do this.
Let me state some hypothetical examples. We might experience long lines that cause unfortunate delays in our schedule. Whilst others complain in the lines, we can play the Game with Minutes and pray for all those around us.
Or we might have a surgery coming up that will require rehab. We can complain or use that time to play the Game with Minutes and consider it not time wasted but time spent inviting God into our rehab experience.
Or we could have an unusually challenging schedule which requires extra burdens on us. Like doing more household chores or dog walks or anything. The Game with Minuts says to exchange murmuring with inviting God into those activities.
Imagine the uncommon generosity people will experience from us as a result. Let’s do this.