Corona Devo 194

The heaviness sits on me like a school bully in a back alley.  I can't shake the weight of the...what?  What is it, exactly that settles over us some days (some weeks!)?  

Is it the weight of the responsibilities of life?  We can't get it all done, or we don't even know how to get it all done?

Is it the weight of fear and anxiety?  All of the what-if's that bombard our brains and then seep into our spirit, and the weight is crushing, crippling.  Some days I feel like I am frozen in all of it.

Or maybe the weight of money keeps bearing down with more mass every day.  There's no way out of the debt and the accruing bills, or so it seems.

Perhaps it's the people.  Our "loved ones" are sometimes so hard to love and I hate myself sometimes because I am the one that is hard to love.  Relationships and our own emotions are heavy burdens at times.

We need saving, because the pressure of all of our "weights" can become way too much to bear.  In fact, I am very near cracking.  

1 O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?  How long will you look the other way?

2 How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?

    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

3 Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!  Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

4 Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”  Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your unfailing love.  I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

6 I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.  ~Psalm 13:1-6

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It feels very lonely in the dark place, doesn't it?  As if everyone has forgotten us, and also as if God has forgotten us.  O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?  How long will you look the other way? (Psalm 13:1).

We feel alone, isolated and even suspended in time.  We cannot move forward, and yet the weights continue to bear down on us.  Our enemies of anguish and sorrow hold us captive: How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?  How long will my enemy have the upper hand? (Psalm 13:2).

We can remember a different time, and a different place when we breathed and slept and even smiled.  We desperately crave that stability and serenity in our minds and souls.  Only God can bring it back to us:  Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!  Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. (Psalm 13:3).

We don't want to stay where we are.  In this mood, in this funk, in this cell.  There is a war waging on our souls, and Jesus is the victor.  He has already defeated whatever we are battling.  We pray today to feel His presence march with purpose into our hearts and right over our enemies, whatever they are.  Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”  Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall. (Psalm 13:4).

We can escape from the bully of responsibility/finances/relationships/expectations sitting on us.  We can rise up from the heap of despair/fear/worry/failure that we have been crumpled up in.  God loves us.  His love is unfailing and we can trust in it.  We can trust in Him, as we stand up to our bullies.  But I trust in your unfailing love.  I will rejoice because you have rescued me.  (Psalm 13:5).  God rescues us.  He does not leave us cornered or frozen in our fears.  He rescued us from the penalty of sin when He died on the cross.  But every day He is a prayer away and His hand is outstretched and reaching out for us.   In love and out of His love for us, He pulls us back onto our feet.  

And we can praise Him for being here for us.  For changing our perspective, our circumstances, and for changing us.  I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me. (Psalm 13:6).  He is SO good to us, and He will always lift the weights that have been crushing us.  He will not allow us to be overcome or beaten.  Jesus Christ is the victor over our enemies (whatever form they take), and over this world.  

Breathe in the freedom that Christ gives us today.  Let it fill your lungs and your heart and your crowded mind.  Lord, we pray today that You would restore the sparkle to (our) eyes (Psalm 13:3).  

Rejoice because He has rescued us.  And as you feel the release of fear, and the weight of your burdens relax, sing to the Lord because he is good to me. (Psalm 13:6). 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com


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