Man of Sorrows
Extracted from a book title- Rooted in God's Love by Dale and Juanita Ryan
Many people have the impression that good Christians are happy ,joyful ,victorious people. In this fantasy,good Christians are people whose problems vanish when they trust God and pray. Unaffected by the pain of life, these relentlessly cheerful people read the Bible, sing praise songs and feel no pain.
We seem to forgotten that Christians are at heart followers of a man who was called "Man of Sorrows." Jesus was not relentlessly cheerful.He did not practice a mood-altering,pain-numbing religion. He grieved.He wept. He was familiar with suffering.Our God is a God who knows suffering.He is a God who grieves.
In those times when we shame ourselves for our sorrow, believing that we are disappointing God because we grieve, it can be an enormous encouragement to remember that God is personally familiar with grief.God grieves. It is right for us to do the same.
God, you surprise me again!
When I grieve, I think that if I could just cheer up,
you would be pleased.
But you also grieve.
Man of Sorrows, you are acquaninted with grief.
Thank you for understanding.
Thank you for grieving.
Please help me to experience
your presence im my time of grief.
Amen
Many people have the impression that good Christians are happy ,joyful ,victorious people. In this fantasy,good Christians are people whose problems vanish when they trust God and pray. Unaffected by the pain of life, these relentlessly cheerful people read the Bible, sing praise songs and feel no pain.
We seem to forgotten that Christians are at heart followers of a man who was called "Man of Sorrows." Jesus was not relentlessly cheerful.He did not practice a mood-altering,pain-numbing religion. He grieved.He wept. He was familiar with suffering.Our God is a God who knows suffering.He is a God who grieves.
In those times when we shame ourselves for our sorrow, believing that we are disappointing God because we grieve, it can be an enormous encouragement to remember that God is personally familiar with grief.God grieves. It is right for us to do the same.
God, you surprise me again!
When I grieve, I think that if I could just cheer up,
you would be pleased.
But you also grieve.
Man of Sorrows, you are acquaninted with grief.
Thank you for understanding.
Thank you for grieving.
Please help me to experience
your presence im my time of grief.
Amen
Thank you for reminding me that God is always with us and that it is not wrong to grieve.
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