Hard to Hear
Friday, May 29, 2020 Good morning, Lord V.O.D.: Psalm 103:17-18 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them. M.O.M.: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 10-12 John 11:30-57
Hard to Hear
There are times when we simply do not want to hear it. You know, the nice little things folks say trying to be the one who says the right thing at the right time or maybe they just repeat platitudes they have heard out of a sense of moral duty. Whatever their reasons, they are trying to be what you need. That does not keep us for resenting some or just closing off our minds to others. Why is that?
Our nerves are on their last end. We have suffered a great hurt or tragedy and all these folks can do is come around and repeat stuff they have heard others say and it sounded so profound to them when they heard it-they just know it is the right thing...
Being conformed into the image of Jesus is a hard thing-I don't care who you are. This is just a hard thing because some of the trials we go through are the hardest things we will ever do. Going through these times we have a lot to consider-but if we do not think of it ahead of time, it is extremely hard to when we are carrying that heavy weight.
We may be angry or, at least, short tempered. This is something we must work on all the time especially if we are one of those who likes to let loose occasinally. The Bible says to not sin in our anger (Ephesians 4:26). This is an everyday battle for many of us. But, when under great stress, even the most even-tempered have a short fuse. Make this a matter of everyday prayer.
A quick 'roll of the eyes' in judgement-a quick dismissal-applications that are used quite often. Mke these a matter of everyday prayer.
Why everyday? We never know when the next thing is going to happen, do we? I keep a stone by my chair so I can sharpen my pocket knife while I watch TV and I know it is always ready to use. If someone borrows it, I always have to say, "Be careful, that thing will shave".
Remember, then, that we may get good at handling stress because we do pray daily and have been through some things but giving advice to the hurting might be like giving them a sharp knife-be gentle with all of it-a sharp blade is the least of the worries of the hurting-they just hurt.
Jesus wept with His friends. A great deal of the time, a closed mouth and an open heart is the best approach to use when dealing with the hurting and it also is wise for those who hurt to use the same thought.
When we hurt-do not worry about what to say-if you don't know what to say, just hug and don't waste energy on words.
But, folks are almost always going to come around when tragedy strikes with words that are hard to hear and response to them is hard to judge. Our faith seems weak and our hearts want it all to go away.
I remember these things: Philippians 4:5 ►Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Romans 8:29 ►For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Revelation 21:4 ►He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away..“Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true."
I get it. You just don't want to hear it. We have to step back into the heart of Jesus and let go and let His arms hold us and let His voice speak for us and His love will love.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven, I confess, I get outside of Your mind when this pain is so great-Bring me back and focus my heart on You. Great and merciful Father, In the name of Jesus, Amen