A friend (Tim George) lost a longtime family pet. A young family, friends of ours, recently spent the night in the hospital with their handicapped little girl after an hour long seizure, one of many she's survived. This country is sinking to unimagined lows as a direct result of this president and his corrupt administration. People have been searching for work, lost their healthcare, and are fearful of how they can survive in this economy. Families have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and around the world, soldiers sacrificing their lives for their country's freedom and the Constitution. Pastor Saeed has been imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith, beaten repeatedly and sent to a notoriously bad prison, and the president just made a devil's deal with Iran without insisting on the American pastor's release as a part of it.
Sometimes it's overwhelming as the sorrows mount up and the tears gush. Losses, disappointments, frustrations, sorrows. We can't always handle them. They can overwhelm and suffocate. Tear apart and leave emptiness.
For us who believe in Jesus Christ (John 14:6), we know this is the temporary, but we've faced enough sorrows of our own to know that certain events rock our souls, shake our foundational faith, and leave us damaged for a season. We pray and fight in the spiritual realm. We beg at times for relief, for solace, for rescue.
We're careful not to offer clichéd rhetoric that neither soothes nor satisfies. We often listen, sit in the quiet of sadness, and hope the work of the Lord will be seen in the land of the living. We know He misses nothing, never slumbers or sleeps, and that He will eventually work all things together for good. It's just that right now, at present, in the moment, it's impossible for us to grasp those thoughts and remember that Truth always prevails. Even when we can't see it.
If this is a season of sorrow for you, if only because you ache for the condition of our beautiful land, if your spirit is crushed, remember this:
The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
Father, comfort us all in this time of evil. We're desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.