Sometimes I, like many, have wondered over the years, why the heck I've had to undergo certain trials and tribulations. The most major one, of course being the death of my husband son and daughter in one fell swoop.
If I look back at how God used that experience for "the good," I can see how God will "never waste a good crisis." (ala Hillary Clinton) What I learned-- and shared--about trusting God helped others that were similarly struggling. "Like" helps "like"...oil and water don't mix...but oil with oil and water with water unite perfectly.
When others tried to comfort me after my children died-- and had never had a child transition--I found myself letting what they said "go in one ear and out the other." But let a fellow bereaved Mom speak to me--and I was all ears, hanging on every word.
Sometimes people have shared with me only a sentence or two...but that was exactly something I needed to hear, at just the correct time. Most of the time they never even knew that, because it was said very casually.
If I ever feel "prompted" by the Spirit to say something, even if sometimes it seems "off" to me, I try to respect that and say whatever that is. Maybe someone really, really needed to hear something that was said. It needn't be anything particularly scholarly either. It could be just about anything.
We can't give what we don't have, therapists are fond of telling their clients. If we don't "have" --we can't receive either because the person receiving has no context to draw any understanding from. Being relevant in advising means having been there and done that and gained food from tilling the work field. From our supply of food, we can help nourish others.
Going through a personal situation lately, God has been Spiritually instructing me about how things went from what I thought originally "good"to worse...Without the insight He gives, I can't make sense of what happened. I ask God to give me understanding and since He always hears us, He gives me "illumination" to clear up the darkness when I'm struggling to find my way. After this time of struggle, I know from past experience that God will use my suffering and bring something beneficial to others, as long as I'm willing to let Him utilize me as He sees fit.
Somewhere in the Bible (!) God is speaking and says "Is anything to difficult for me? Is anything too hard?" and I remember what miracles He's already done for me and stop my fretting. At least for awhile. I don't want to insult God by worrying and fretting so much about something, as if He didn't have the Power to instantly save me with but a Word... He speaks and "it" is accomplished...I like that efficiency!
God is "The Ultimate Recycler." He's into "composting" too . . . He utilizes every rotten thing (and of course good things, too) that ever happened to us. He then brings people into our lives that can use whatever fruit that experience bore within us; helping them be fed.
"Waste not, Want not"-- that old saying takes on a whole new meaning to me, when looking at it from a purely Spiritual point of view. Resolve to share your experiences with others and let God water that seed...God loves to feed the hungry!