III. Pray your tears!
The psalms are raw... real... But what’s important to see here that David runs to his connection to God!
Friends are vital! Living in community is critical!! But… we must go to God to! Take your tears to your heavenly Father!
a. Pray in light of God’s love.
The beauty of the Psalms… God’s love remains… Even when you are not theologically correct…
Psalm 39:12 "Lord, hear my prayer. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my sobbing. I'm like a guest in your home. I'm only a visitor, like all of my family who lived before me. 13 Leave me alone. Let me be full of joy again before I die."
He knows how we speak when we are desperate! And he is not afraid of it or bothered by it.
“The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go God’s love for us does not.” ― C.S. Lewis
b. Pray in light of the cross.
Matthew 26:38 – 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
There is no other book or God like this! Buddhism teaches you to deny emotion…
Two things….
1) God knows our pain! If you can ever experienced pain like the loss of a child… You are not afraid to talk to someone who has been where you’re at. We have a God who is been where we’re at.
When you feel abandoned see Jesus on the cross being abandoned by the father. See him crying that my God my God why have you for sake me. Remind yourself that he was forsaken so that you would not be. That even when you pray for God to leave you promises that he won’t.
2) Even Jesus needed friends!
** NPR – Study with rats ... 1st Study… one rat, two options to drink from. Water in one, the other laced with heroine. The rat quickly was addicted and died of overdose. 2nd study… same option! One waterspout was pure water, the other laced with heroin. But… the rat was put into a community of other rats! Not one rat died or even got addicted! The opposite of addiction is not sobriety... but connection. We are born with a need to bond… and we will bond with something… be it drugs… porn… even abusive relationships!
There are tears that come from self-pity… They make us small. Over sensitive... unwillingness to forgive... always blaming others for their unhappiness... impatience... false guilt... self-absorbed.
But as we look at the cross… our tears are put in perspective! Our tears can strengthen us, and grow us!
c. Pray in light of your ultimate future!
Play the long story not the short story. Don’t stop at the cross go to resurrection.
Ps. 16:8 I know that the LORD is always with me. He is at my right hand. I will always be secure. 9 So my heart is glad. Joy is on my tongue. My body also will be secure. 10 You will not leave me in the grave. You will not let your faithful one rot away. 11 You always show me the path that leads to life. You will fill me with joy when I am with you. You will give me endless pleasures at your right hand.
Your problems and circumstances are not the reason you’re sad and depressed. It is the way you were dealing with them!
This life is a war zone... Live long enough you will experience deep loss and grief. We must keep putting our hope in our ultimate future!
