Good Morning to All,
Mark
9:27; “But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted
him up, and he arose.”
If
you are old enough, you might remember when President Johnson spoke to the
American public and delivered the line, “My fellow Americans, I
come to you tonight with a heavy heart.” He went on to
explain how painful being president of the United States had been. He eventually stated he would not run for
reelection. He claimed it was because he
didn’t want the presidency to be drug down by the politics of the
discussion. I think most people just
thought that he was worn down by being president.
I think
most of us agree that being president is heavy on the heart. I am always amazed at how much those men age
while in office. I think our last two,
Bush and Obama, have aged incredibly.
The stress of the job must be beyond most of our comprehension.
There are
many times when in our life, we feel we live with a heavy heart. There are times when we look around and with
a sigh, wonder what can come next. I
have a pickup that I drive. My “check
engine” light is always on. I have
tested it and replaced the part but the light stays on. My mechanic friends tell me it could be any
one of a half-dozen things before it that make the sensor go off. I can live with it but I know people who have
a doctor tell them the same thing. They
try this or that but the doctor is never sure if it will help, hurt, or leave
no change. My pickup is one thing but a person’s
health is different. Facing this can
cause a heavy heart.
Struggling with personal relationships that can be troubling and painful. Spending most of your time alone, even if you
are part of a family, can cause a heavy heart.
Struggling with every day bills (can this winter get any longer or more
expensive?) or a job that seems less than satisfactory (if you have a job); or
just getting up in the morning because you feel depressed about the way life
has been dealt can cause a very heavy heart.
When we
look at this, we might be saddened. Yet
everyone experiences this at some time or another. You see it when you see some people turn to alcohol
or drugs as a way to dull the senses.
You see it when they tend to be abusive to those around them. You see it when a person tends to just fall
out of touch with all the people. These
are the answers that don’t work. Yet we
have one that does. Jesus will lift you
up and will lift your heart.
Through
his death on the cross, by being lifted up himself, Jesus has freed us from the
power of the devil. The devil will still
tempt and tease us but he cannot torment us unless we let him. Christ has made him powerless. Our hope and our salvation is secure in God’s
plan of salvation for us, especially made for you. By trusting God to provide for us and by
relying on his mercy, he will lift up our hearts and carry the weight for
us. We need to rely on God’s grace to
carry us through.
Father of grace,
you lift us up out of the mire and the filth of this broken world. We ask that you never let us fall. Be with those who are feeling heavy-hearted
at this time. Be with them and comfort
them with your Spirit of hope. Use us as
your hands to bring them comfort. In
Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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