Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
A younger man who has not wept is a savage, and the older man who will not laugh is a fool.
Religion in its humility restores man to his only dignity, the courage to live by grace.
- Both quotes are from George Santayana
Jesus, is quoted by the dear physician Luke, with a phrase that sticks in my mind - "And days shall come upon you."
Days come upon all of us. Monet was known to have suffered the death of his first wife. Monet painted her body changing color. Grief effects all of us differently. And for each of these deaths, like the death of a step-daughter, Monet ceased to paint. He virtually was unable to do what was his greatest joy.
We all exist at a different emotional temperature. John Boehner, current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is someone who cries easily, like I do. I've noticed something about tears. People in our generation are embarrassed by emotion. Tears are a natural product of the body expressing genuine emotion. God tells us He enjoys the depths of our heart and has created us to be transparent to Him.
One of the benefits of a good cry, your body accepts the emotion, your spirit recognizes the truth and with prayer, healing begins.
However
the raging waters
would have swept us away.
We all have times we say to the LORD, not this emotion - not right now. What will we do with the emotion. And frankly, we can accept self-pity for so long, we become like Psalm 2 - rather evil.
When, I've learned through experience, we earnestly pray The Lord's Prayer. we can have strength. A renewal of hope surging through us. Therefore strengthen your tired hands and weakened knees, Does saying The Lord's Prayer work each time? Absolutely. Sound too good to be true? Well. However, at the beginning of the prayer, you ask Father God, "Your will be done." Therefore, like the Centurion, who pleased Jesus so much, we expect HIM to show up just by His Word. Telling us He will never leave or forsake us. And He will be with us.
Embarrassment. Because there are certainly times when our emotions must be discussed. And displayed. Never let the moment of need be dismissed as being over the top - unless this is a terrible pattern.
Let's not be the generation freaking out over emotion.
We should give encouragement to emotion as gently listening. The emotion, crying, does not need to be discussed until the person weeping wants to mention that. An open expression and care is the needed response. I see people cry, all the time, at the Pregnancy Assistant Center, where I volunteer. They usually remark, eventually on their own emotion. I just say, "Tears Are only Emotion. Here is a kleenex. I've seen tears before and cried myself." Usually a matter of fact reaction, with understanding, helps a lot. The Scriptures tell us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with the rejoicing. I do believe in weeping with someone in something like a huge announcement is appropriate, but usually people just, and Scripture, expresses, walk with them in their conversation.
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Jesus recognized small children are more apt to speak the thoughts of their heart and put faith first.
Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Jeremiah 17:10
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Psalm 112:7
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
A song of ascents! Alleluia!
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