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| It's Okay to Cry |
At no other time in my life did “The Power in You” become more apparent to me than some years back, when I lost a lot of money. I was very distraught. I basically questioned all I hitherto believed, asking where the broken hedge was. I lost faith in myself and was open to what anyone else had to say. It was like I had failed. "There must be something about me that is not working," I concluded. Everything looked dark, gloomy, and hopeless.
David and His Men Crying:
Grieving:
I sure understand how David and his men felt when they came back to Ziklag and saw the devastation of their camp. [1 Samuel 30:1-6] The questions that ran through their minds were no different from the ones that ran through mine. How did this happen? What did we miss? Where did we miss it? How can God allow this to happen? Is there a broken hedge in our life? How will we ever recover the lost grounds?
What will make grown-up men weep “until they had no more power to weep?” [1 Samuel 30:4] You will not understand until you have been up the mountain and suddenly get thrown down the valley. It is easier to get used to the valley if you have never been up the mountain. It is a different thing once you have tasted the mountain. You can come down the valley by choice. Not a problem. It is different if you are thrown down against your will.
What will make grown-up men weep “until they had no more power to weep?” [1 Samuel 30:4] You will not understand until you have been up the mountain and suddenly get thrown down the valley. It is easier to get used to the valley if you have never been up the mountain. It is a different thing once you have tasted the mountain. You can come down the valley by choice. Not a problem. It is different if you are thrown down against your will.
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| Deliver My Soul, O Lord |
To Grief is To Be Human:
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, orator, and tragedian, in his letter to his mother, Helvius, as she grieved the loss of her husband, is quite instructive. Seneca was at that point in time in exile on the island Corsica, just off the coast of France. He had been accused of having an affair with Julia Livilla, sister of Emperor Caligula. While in exile, Seneca lost his father, his son, and his wife. He fits the credentials of one we can learn a thing or two from. Doesn't he?
Seneca had delayed writing his mother because he wanted to give her time to grieve. He did not want to intrude upon her grief while it was fresh and agonizing, in case the consolations should rouse and inflame it. "For an illness, too, nothing is more harmful than premature treatment." (Seneca) He was waiting for her grief to lose its force and, being softened by time to endure remedies, it would allow itself to be touched and handled.
Seneca had delayed writing his mother because he wanted to give her time to grieve. He did not want to intrude upon her grief while it was fresh and agonizing, in case the consolations should rouse and inflame it. "For an illness, too, nothing is more harmful than premature treatment." (Seneca) He was waiting for her grief to lose its force and, being softened by time to endure remedies, it would allow itself to be touched and handled.
© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse.
Link Study Series:
Links to Related Articles:
Choose Life (Part Forty): Purpose
Choose Life (Part Thirty-Eight): Why Are We Here?
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