The Missing Puzzle Piece (Debbie Kitterman)

Post By: Debbie Kitterman

I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and a deep darkness as I looked at the face of the young girl standing in front me.  She was maybe all of 16 years of age.  I bowed my head and began praying for her when I had the thought enter my mind that she was suicidal.  I knew I couldn’t just blurt it out, and yet I knew I needed to speak truth and life over her.  I prayed quietly some more, silently pleading with the Lord to give me something encouraging to say to her.

She was a beautiful girl, but it was obvious she was struggling with something in her life. I had just stepped off the stage at a women’s event and the women’s leader announced that I would be available for prayer and ministry time.  I no sooner had set my Bible and notes on the table when I looked up to see a line forming of people wanting ministry.

Now, this young fragile, beautiful girl stood in front of me, wanting prayer and ministry and yet, I couldn’t speak out the very thing I felt like God had just showed me. It wouldn’t be encouraging to her in the least bit. Especially if she was suicidal.

Sometimes when God speaks to us about others, it isn’t so we can speak it out, it’s so we can pray it through.  I knew I couldn’t ask her, “Are you suicidal?” nor could I say to her, “You’re contemplating suicide, aren’t you?”  Instead, I asked God for His heart for her.  I asked if there was something specific she needed to know or that He would have me share with her.  Immediately, I saw a flash of a picture in my mind of a beautiful, intricate puzzle, with thousands of pieces.  The puzzle was complete, except for one missing piece.

I immediately knew what God was saying, He was telling me, she was the missing piece.  I shared the picture with her and the message that went with it. She was a part of a beautiful intricate design and if she wasn’t here, the picture wouldn’t be complete, could never be complete.

She quietly began to cry and said, “you have no idea, I don’t feel like I belong anywhere, and no one cares.”  I reached down and gently placed my hand under her chin and tilted her head up, so she was looking me in the eye.  I said, “Yes, I do know, and I can tell you God wants you to know that you are an important piece to the puzzle. If you weren’t here, then this world and people around you would be missing an important piece.”  I went on to minister and pray for her. Then with her permission, I walked her over the pastor’s wife and explain the situation.

This girl was going to need someone looking out for her.  She needed someone local to check in with her, to encourage her, to build her up and to speak truth to her.  She needed more help than I could give her since I lived several hours away.  But God knew her, and He knew what she needed that day.  He needed someone to speak life to her and not call out death.  God needed someone to pull out the gold that was inside of her and speak the truth to her. God needed someone to make her feel valued and cared for.

There are people around us today that feel the same way this young woman did.  They need us to share God’s heart. They need us to speak truth. They need us to breathe words of hope and life into their dry and lonely soul. They need an encounter with a real Jesus.

This is exactly why I wrote “The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement: Hearing the Words of God for others.”

We live in a time, where those around us are in desperate need of a real encounter with Jesus and in need of encouragement. We are called to encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13), and to build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

We all have the opportunity to #BeTheGift of encouragement others need today.

“The gift of prophetic encouragement is a necessary gift, one that the Church is in great need of during these last days.”—from the foreword by Wayne Cordeiro, president, New Hope Christian College; author, The Divine Mentor