Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- October 20, 2010
“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces: he will remove the disgrace of the people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 25:8
On earth sorrow is ever present to pester people—no one is immune from it. Sorrow created by sin. Sorrow created by death. Sorrow created by divorce. Sorrow created by selfishness. Sorrow created by poverty. Sorrow created by rejection. Sorrow created by loss. Sorrow created by fear. But, in all cases, Jesus Christ is the Savior of our sorrows.
Sorrow is all around us. It circles its prey like vultures around a dead carcass ready to pick away at the meat of our soul. Sorrow does not discriminate between races, gender, social class or stage of life. It is there to facilitate a weepy heart and a weary mind. It never completely goes away in this lifetime. Your sorrow may be overwhelming to the point of anguish and despair. You cannot take anymore. The hurt is about to drive you crazy. You cannot handle it. You have lost perspective. God seems a million miles away.
Life seems to be crumbling in around you. All hope seems hopeless. Sorrow is like a ball and chain around your joy. You live in the regret of the past, rather than the hope of the future. Your current circumstances have simply crushed you. You are claustrophobic in your cares. There doesn’t seem to be a way out. However, you do not have to stay in this perpetual sadness. There is a way out. There is hope. There is a balm for your cankered soul. The Lord is the lifeguard who rescues you from drowning in your sorrows.
Jesus was a man acquainted with grief—a man of many sorrows. He was inflicted with not just one, but multiple sorrows. He is a sympathetic Savior waiting to sooth the pain. He wants to gently wipe away the tears. Ask Him to dive in and rescue you from your thrashing about in the deep waters of your sorrows. He—at the very least—will be with you. He wants to walk with you during the dark night of your soul.
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psalm 55:22). Jesus Christ is the caregiver for our soul. His grace is enough.
Take the medication of His grace. Administer larger doses in the beginning to stop the spread of sorrows’ infection. He wants you to experience His abundant life in Christ. He wipes away your tears in heaven and on earth. Like a hurricane, life’s circumstances can wreak havoc with horrific damage. Multiple sorrows are like downed trees in your yard. Individually He will lift them from the valuable objects they have crushed.
Sorrow is temporary with God. He fires the temp workers of sorrow and replaces them with the full time workers of joy. Turn over your sorrows to the Lord, as He is the Savior of your sorrows. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4 KJV).
Have I turned over my sorrow to the Lord? Have I ask Him to heal my hurting heart?
Related Readings: Psalm 13:1-6; Isaiah 53:3; 2 Corinthians 6:10; Philippians 2:27
Boyd Bailey is the author of Wisdom Hunters daily devotional and two devotional books, Infusion and Seeking Daily the Heart of God
