Feelings Of Sorrow — Morning Devotions

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Now some things do happen to us that throw us off balance. We can’t be happy all the time. I guess there’s a sense of confusion and fear. You’re met with distractions and struggles and often the opinions of others bring you down. I think that far too often we allow negative thoughts to take over. Negative self talk; it’s easy to fall into, and you feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself. You may feel like you’re a failure letting yourself down, and that reflects on the sadness in your face. Now I’m not making a judgement on anyone here because I’ve fallen into this trap myself all too often.

But you’re never too old to learn something new, take up a new hobby, play an instrument or some form of exercise, attend a class, do something that’s out of your comfort zone because it adds variety to your life and you become more aware of others and how you relate to them. And what effect do you have on others? So the next time you talk to a friend, think about how they’re getting on. Do they seem stressed out? Do you know that they’re going through some bad time?

Can you see how it’s affecting them? Well, people generally don’t reveal too much about their own struggles. They need to trust you first. Some people go through incredible times of stress and sorrow, and they have no one to help them. But God is always there. The Africans have got an old proverb. It says “smooth seas do not make good sailors” now that’s probably true. If we had our way, life would be smooth sailing without the waves. But that’s not reality.

“smooth seas do not make good sailors” – African Proverb

The Reality of Helping Others

I read about an 18 year old girl called Paige Hunter. Now Paige lives in Sunderland in the UK. Life got her down so much to the point of desperation that she made a few suicide attempts. Now, fortunately, these attempts failed. She’s still alive today, and The Washington Post ran this story one day in their headlines. She almost jumped off the Wearmouth Bridge, and now she returns there to post notes that have saved the lives of others. Paige almost jumped to her death, but words from two strangers stopped her, and they said to her, “you’re worth much more than this“. And the next day she wrote those words and some other sayings on bits of paper and stuck them on notes all over the bridge. And, you know, since 2018, Paige has saved dozens of lives by offering hope in their sorrow. And she says, It’s definitely therapeutic for me to write these messages. I believe helping other people has helped me tremendously. So how good is that?

I’m not saying it’s wrong to feel sad. Of course, we all feel sad from time to time. It’s a legitimate emotion that God has given us. There is a verse in the Bible that says “Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us.” And that’s Ecclesiastes 7:3. Look it up yourself.

That means that God wants to take your sadness and turn the feelings into joy and happiness. To live each day as a sad person is certainly depressing, and it’s not good for your own mental health. And I saw this statement recently. “Give God your pain and sorrow and he will make you smile again.”

Yes, there can be days when there’s not much to smile about. Someone in your family has got a serious illness. You have been told your job has been made redundant; these sort of things. They’re not happy circumstances and the sorrow and the sadness you can feel can be paralysing. So how do you heal and move forward if you look to the media? Much advertising suggests you’ve just got to buy the newest gadgets or products, and you’ll be instantly happy. But really, that’s not the long term solution. Find someone that you trust, share your feelings and sorrow with them. It’s a great step forward. Maybe they’ve been through a valley of sadness, and even that sharing of details will bring relief of a new hope. Never underestimate the power of a good friend and remember that God has not forgotten you.

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And you might be wondering today where is God when I need him? I know sometimes things don’t happen the way we’d like. We don’t understand what’s going on, but today I want you to know two things. God knows both you and your life intimately. And He sees everything that you’re going through. He has you in the palm of his hands. He’s got everything under control.

Tell God how you feel. Take to heart The promise from Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you;”

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, today there are feelings of sorrow. There are those downcast people walking the streets. I pray you’ll give them new hope and a fresh way of looking at life. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.