I have been weary this week and have felt a lack of oomph most every day. Some is physical, but a lot is simply the weariness of life and the heartache that goes with living in a broken world. I want to be connected with people and to know them even though that means been affected by their sorrows and burdens. The blessed truth is that we don't have to bear the burdens of others alone and in our own strength. We can hold it for a moment and then turn and pass it onto Jesus, casting our cares--and the cares of others--on him because he cares for us. The good news of the gospel is that he stands ready to take on our cares and our burdens and never reaches a limit and refuses to take any more.
Yet some sorrow lingers in the transfer. A residual effect that keeps others and their needs in the forefront of my prayers.
"Lord have mercy on this dear one, Christ have mercy on that dear one," becomes as constant as breathing in and out as I go through my day.
Four families we know are grieving losses due to cancer this week and two others have been affected by stroke. And there are so many more--families we don't know, but families you and others know. Sorrow and suffering can seem never-ending and overwhelming at times.
Health issues are all too common in this broken world and in our broken bodies.
God is able to heal, able to comfort in each and every one of these lives. I know it and I believe it. And so we pray for these individuals, lifting them up individually by name and as a larger group by need, asking God to fix what's broken, to heal what is wounded.
It's a privilege to pray for one another, to be part of the family of God.
And yet, the one thing that would answer every prayer and make right every wrong is the return of Jesus to earth, for his kingdom to come
And so my prayer this morning and in the face of this pain has become "Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Come and make everything right here on earth as it is in heaven!"
Will you pray with me?
With great love,
Joanne
