A Heavy Heart
By: Misty Grimes
Day One: Hold Fast the Faith
Focal Verse: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:1-3,7).
Introduction:
So many of us have been walking a wilderness journey and struggling with heavy hearts as of late. As both individuals and as a body of Christ we have suffered many losses, dealt with much illness, faced many hardships as the world around us continues to present us with new challenges each and every day. Yet with each and every bump in the road I have witnessed this body of Christ coming together and I have witnessed the power of a group of faithful followers of Christ we have not failed to show each other support, encouragement and love in so many ways. Our Church leaders have gone to great lengths to tailor worship services to the needs of their people so that we can be reminded not only of God’s love and faithfulness even in the darkest of our times but to also remind us of the power a group of believer’s can have when they come together to support each other and pray for each other. This is nothing less than a demonstration of God’s Word when He said in Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them” as well as the words of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken”.
To be surrounded by fellow believers and to know that you are not alone is an amazing feeling and a great source of strength and encouragement as we walk through the wilderness. Yet at the same time we also need to remember that our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that God always has been and always will be in control.
Lesson:
While the Bible is full of verses that remind us that when our faith is shaken, it does not have to be broken and we don’t have to give into despair the Lord has brought two specific promises of this to my mind:
One, no matter what happens in this life He and His love are ALWAYS there! “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-38).
Two, no matter what happens in this life when we hang on to him and his promises and remember his faithfulness to us in all areas and at all times we can confidently say, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
When we are in the midst of a dark time in our lives, when our hearts are so burden we just want to give up and give in to the weight of it all we have to remember that our God is always the same and that is such an amazing thing to not only remember but embrace! The Christian group Sanctus Real has a new song out called, “My God is Still the Same” and the chorus says this: “When did He break His promise?
When did His kindness fail? Never has, never will, My God is still the same. When did He lose His power? When did His mercy change? Never has, never will, My God is still the same, yeah…Not once did He ever stop moving, Not once has He ever let go, Not once did He ever stop proving, Our God is in control.”
Because God is in control we can hold fast with confidence to the words the Lord speaks in Isaiah 43:1-2: “But now thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Conclusion:
Know that you are not alone. Not only do you have a faithful body of fellow believer’s readily available to you, God is with you, holding you, comforting you, and most of all loving you no matter what. God’s river of mercy and strength flows just for us when we are weak and thirsty and no power can draw us out of the circle of his protection once we take refuge in him. When we put our life in His hands, we can rest, confident that he will protects us, comforts us, strengthen us and guides us. Even when there are no words to say, he hears our hearts. He knows. He waits. With arms outstretched He beckons us to come, to fall into his embrace and rest in his love and his care. There is no better place to rest than in the arms of the one who bore all our sorrows, felt all our hurts, felt our pain and rose victorious so that by his wounds we can be healed!
Application:
Read the following verses and after reading each one ask yourself, “In what area of my life can I apply this right now?”
- “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
- “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
- “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:1-2).
- “I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
- “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27).
Day Two: Cry Out To Jesus
Focal Scripture: “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears” (Psalm 18:6).
Introduction:
In the above verse, the psalmist knew that he would be delivered not because he was strong or deserving of God’s help but because he knew that God loved him and was powerful enough to overcome his circumstances. Just as the psalmist knew God would give him victory even in the face of seemingly impossible odds, we too can have this sense of victory in the midst of the storms of life when our hearts are so heavy and broken that it seems we will never heal.
In Day One we focused on the importance of how being a part of a group, yet still realizing that God is ultimately in control, aids in our healing. Today I want to try and make it more individualized because it is the individuals and their hurts and their struggles, both past and present, and how they have won their victories, that make up the group that is able to love, support and encourage each other.
Lesson:
The first thing I want to challenge you with is to take your need for God’s love, healing, comfort, and peace seriously. One of the things I have really struggled with in my life, and I’m sure there are others who have done the same thing, is when I see others hurting my immediate reaction is to downplay my own hurts and struggles and “condemn” myself, so to speak, for having the feelings I am having in regards to what is going on in my life. By this I mean I will often tell myself, “Wow, this person is really struggling with a real thing and here I am crying about my situation when it is nothing compared to theirs.” When we do this, we are repeating a lie to ourselves that we have probably heard for most of our lives by those that have hurt us, our feelings don’t matter and we have no right to feel this hurt and anger over our situation we just need to get over it and move on. This is wrong in so many ways but mainly because when we deny what we are feeling, when we downplay our struggles, we are telling ourselves that we don’t matter to God, to others or to ourselves. And when we do that we don’t heal because by believing this lie we continue to deny there is an open wound in our lives that needs to be addressed thus our negative feelings and, often the negative behaviors that follow, grow and our wound becomes infected rather than healed. Just because our wounds are different it doesn’t mean that they are of any less importance to God and to those in our lives who care about us and love us. Just as we bring the needs of others to our fellow believers for prayer, support and encouragement, and just as we bring the needs of others to God, we need to bring our needs before them as well. God doesn’t call only those of us who are dealing with this issue or that issue to come to him for rest, He calls ALL to come.
The second thing I want to challenge you to do is to, as we say in recovery, let go and let God. To let go is to wave the white flag and surrender to the only One who has the power to give us victory. In order to do that we have to cry out to him with a humble spirit and an open heart. We have to empty ourselves of everything that holds us back from experiencing his full healing and, most of the times, that requires us to be totally open and honest with him!! You can use the excuse I often has, “God already knows my heart, he doesn’t need to hear it.” Yes, he knows your heart and no he doesn’t need to hear it but you need to say it because in saying it you are laying it at his feet, you are surrendering it, you are letting go and saying, “God, I can’t do this, but you can so I give it to you.” Expressing your anger, Job did. Moses did. Express the depth of your despair. King David did. Jesus did. Why can’t we?
Conclusion:
The best way to sum it up is to use the chorus of an older Third Day song, “Cry Out to Jesus”: “There is hope for the helpless, Rest for the weary, And love for the broken heart. And there is grace and forgiveness, Mercy and healing, He’ll meet you wherever you are, Cry out to Jesus, cry out to Jesus…
When your lonely, And it feels like the whole world is falling on you, You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus, Cry to Jesus”
Application:
Same thing as Day One: Read the following verses and after reading each one ask yourself, “In what area of my life can I apply this right now?”
- “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
- “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13)
- “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
- “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).