Teaching Notes

Comfort for your heart

Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. - Psalm 31:9

I have heard a lot of bad news lately. Many are trying to make sense of deaths of friends that were too young to be leaving this world.  Some are sleepless and have unrest in their hearts. Many don't talk about it because, well adults sometimes just don't understand.

I know sometimes we (I happen to be one of those adults) forget that we are not the only ones faced with difficulties, problems and news that just takes the wind out of us. Well today, I want someone to know that your hurt is important. Your grief over the lost of a friend, loved one or even a change in your life situation is something that God will give you comfort for.

Yes, God does often work through people to comfort, but he still can comfort you in through his spirit. The psalmist understood that. The psalmist was in distress, he speaks that his eyes were weak and his body was filled with grief. I understand having weak eyes. Have you cried so much that your eyes were puffy and you felt like you couldn't even keep them open any longer?

That is distress! Today, however I want to come and bring you encouragement. God knows your hurts and just like the psalmist you can turn that grief, confusion and hurt over to him. He is waiting and ready to comfort you in this time of need.

This month, I pray that those that have suffered lost (friends, family, loved one), that God would help you through. This situation does not have to take down. You can continue to stand regardless of what you are facing.

There are also some things you can do to help in the healing process:

1. Talk about it. - I've heard the saying, there is more room out, than in. You cannot keep all your feelings bottled up inside of you because they will eventually come out. They just may not come out in the way you want them to. They may come out in anger, frustration, etc. So find someone that will give you a listening ear and talk about it.

2. Don't deny how you feel. - You cannot pretend that you do not care or that the situation does not matter. You have to face your feelings head on. However, in dealing with your feelings you cannot let them tell you what to do. For example, you might be feeling sad, but you cannot let the sadness tell you that you have no hope. Feelings are "facts" but they are not "truth". Facts just tell you what something is. God's truth tells you that while the fact is you feel a certain way, that is not all there is.

3. Pray. - It is our most important tool. When you find yourself feeling overwhelmed or distressed, pray. In fact pray when you feel happy. In fact, just pray all the time. Prayer helps you to be connected to God and helps you learn how to communicate with God. Try it.

4. Give yourself time. - Healing of emotional hurts take time. Grieving takes time. Don't be hard on yourself because you have a bad day. Get back up and start again. One day you'll find out that the pain isn't so painful and the hurt doesn't hurt as much. It is simply a process and you need to seek God the entire way so that you can have the victory.

Prayer: Lord today, we seek your help as we face hurts, disappointments and losses. We do not alway understand the reasons for these things, but we are sure that you can hear us and help us so we seek your help. Amen.