2-11-2016

 Good Morning All!!   

          Psalm 6:6; “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.”

     I remember sitting up with a friend one night.  He and his father had what would be kindly called a tempestuous relationship.  They argued and fought over everything.  They fought over the length of his hair, the style of clothes, the cost of his clothes, his choice of schooling and job future, the girls he dated, the list goes on; I think they fought over whether something was black or white.  But one night, he got a call from his mother.  His dad was in the hospital and had suffered a stroke and they weren’t sure if he would make it.  He went to the hospital for a while but came back to the dorm.  He sat for a while and then he began to cry and he cried a river.

    He had so much to tell his dad; how he didn’t mean those things that were said in the arguing.  He didn’t hate his father but he wasn’t sure if his father knew that.  “What if he dies thinking that I hate him?”  At times he was almost inconsolable.  The relationship with his father, the one that he treated as not that valuable, suddenly seemed to be on the verge of ending.  Fortunately, his father mostly recovered and they had a long talk.  They still held strong opinions and disagreed but they were not disagreeable or spiteful.  They had respect and love for each other.

    Perhaps you have had a night like this.  Someone close to you may or may not be alive in a few hours and the last words between you were bitter.  Perhaps the weight of past decisions or actions is taking their toll.  Perhaps you fear the future more than you can bear.  If you are carrying all the weight, all the guilt, and all the sorrow for choices, if you are weary from your moaning; it is time to turn from your sin and from your pain and call upon the Lord for his healing.

    God opens his heart; he opens his arms to bring you to him that you may have comfort.  Whether you feel discarded or rejected by the world; whether you have heard too many times that you are a waste of space and of no value; none of this is true to God.  God places a very high value on you.  He sent Jesus to die for you in order to take the pain for all your tears and fears and carry them on his back.  He sent Jesus so that, when you cry, you can look to God and see the loving and comforting Father and not the judge.  God sent Jesus to calm your heart and still your soul. 

    You may still have bouts of tears but these bouts do not define who you are or what lies ahead for you.  God’s redemption of you means that you are a child of God and as a child of God you have eternal life with Him to hold onto.  You have God’s promise to comfort your broken spirit.

Father, I cry to you and you calm my heart.  Keep me in your loving arms.  Keep me safe in your hands.  Be with those who are in deep pain at this time.  Heal them Lord that they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret