“I cry out to the LORD with my voice; with my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.”
May 10, 2024
Someone once said you can’t purify water by painting the pump. And yet that’s what we try to do. We think that somehow if we can change the exterior, if we can make conditions such that we never have any hurts or pains, then we’ll be just right. But Jesus focused on what you are, not on what you have.
He didn’t say blessed are those who have popularity, those who have position, those who have personality, those who have possessions, or those who have power. I can show you people who have all of these things and are perfectly, exquisitely, miserable. Jesus didn’t say blessed are those who have certain things, but blessed are those who are certain things, including those who mourn.
Many church services are filled with cheerleader enthusiasm. I’m not speaking against joy. The Bible says there’s a time to laugh and a time to weep (see Ecclesiastes 3:4). There is a time to be on our faces before God. When we recognize our brokenness, when we see the brokenness in the world, we can and should fall before Him and mourn. Mourners have the sensitivity to feel; their hearts are touched. They rightly see the brokenness in the world and in themselves.
Talk to a friend about areas of struggle. Seek to walk with one another as you lift your troubles to God.
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”