Tuesday, November 17, 2015

IT'S ALL GOOD, EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT

"Singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds"
(Proverbs 25:20 - The Message)

As much as I'm typically all about the positive, and about encouraging people to always believe for the best and to see the glass half-full, sometimes I think it's good to let people know that it's also OK to feel the negative and to embrace the dark side along with the Light...

"To everything there is a season...a time to laugh and a time to cry"...

Sometimes tears are appropriate...

Jesus apparently knew that He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but still burst into tears when He saw the tomb of His beloved friend...

It's not a contradiction of faith or double-mindedness to feel a little bit of everything...feeling sad about things that happen in your life or in the world doesn't mean that you're not grateful for the good things...

Paul told the people of the Roman church to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep"...in other words, it's not always appropriate to try to cheer someone up when they're going through something...sometimes it's the right thing to just cry with them, or to even just be sad with them, and not make them feel guilty about their emotions, and just trust that they'll be OK in time...

I'm not talking about the perpetually negative people who don't try to get better and just drain you and suck all the joy out of everything all the time...there's actually little you can do for those types...they are what they are...

But you can love your life, and still feel a sense of deep loss over some things...there most definitely is "a time to mourn"...it doesn't mean that you're living in regret or living in the past or are ungrateful...

This may sound our of character for me to be talking like this, but this is where the energy is for me today, so I'm just writing it as I feel it...

I know in my own case, if I'm feeling down about something, rare as that may be, it doesn't help at all for someone to remind me of how good I have it, or to tell me about someone who has it worse...that just makes me feel crummier...

I learned some time ago that Jesus created a pattern in setting the example of predicting His own death and His own resurrection..."I will be in the heart of the earth for three days, and then I will rise again"...I have learned in my own life that there are seasons when I feel that I am in the heart of the earth, but I also know that I will rise again...I have learned to embrace the death and still prophecy the resurrection...

If you're happy and you know it, that's awesome...I'm all about the happy...love the happy...but I don't judge others who aren't there yet, or try to make them feel better about anything, necessarily...I just try to love and understand them where they are, and believe that the blues will run their course...

I might even buy them a drink (if they don't have a substance abuse problem)

"Use wine and beer only as sedatives, to kill the pain and dull the ache Of the terminally ill, for whom life is a living death."
Proverbs 31:7 - The Message)

Whatever you're feeling from the dark side today, I speak strength to you to just feel it and process it and get through it and get past it...

"Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning..."

And then when you're ready for it, I will give you this:

"Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!"
(Isaiah 60:1 - AMP)"

23 comments:

  1. Denise Smith SAID...

    Ohh, I so concur. :-)

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  2. Brian Anderson-Payne SAID...

    I dont think I have an abuse issue. Im not presently down or sad either. However, aaaaannnnyyytime you wanna buy that drink, ya brotha is game!! P.s.- Thanks for always having the right words. smile emoticon

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    Replies
    1. LOL...I got you, boo...make sure Uber is available and you're on...

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  3. Brian Anderson-Payne said...

    I dont think I have an abuse issue. Im not presently down or sad either. However, aaaaannnnyyytime you wanna buy that drink, ya brotha is game!! P.s.- Thanks for always having the right words. :-)

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  4. Sandy Dorland said...

    <3

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  5. Frances Martin said...

    Very well worded. I still go though days that I miss my dad, or Toby and the only thing that lifts my heart is to cry.I know I'm surrounded with their spirit but... I still miss that hug.

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    Replies
    1. I feel you on that...it's just a part of the journey...

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  6. Aubrey CallmeBree Gallimore said...

    Bish...I can't tell you how this was so on time for me. When I'm down I end up feeling worse for feeling what I feel when people tell me "it can be worse" or you are blessed, etc. It doesn't always comfort me when my spiritnis grieving. I am too positive a person to stay down but by golly sometimes I just am and I thought it was a lack of faith. I'm glad that I can accept me at my best and worst and know that God isn't upset at me for being sad or discouraged from time to time. Thank you for continuing to be a vessel!

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  7. Renee Flewellen said...

    I know tomorrow may be better, but today....well I'm not. Thanks for posting words of truth. Love you.

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    1. I know sweetheart...I'm feeling the weight of what happened last week, and I'm sure you are, too...one day at a time...love you back...

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  8. Melinda Landrum said...

    You can't be 'up' everyday and I have learned it's better to 'feel' your pain, have your cry, and move on upward. It really is cathartic. My dad passed away this past April and something triggered a memory today and I cried. Sometimes I will go in my sons room and I will miss him terribly even though I know he's away doing what he loves. My step-dad died 2 years ago and I'm caring for my mom after a terrible car accident they were both in I didn't really allow myself time to grieve. I have found that you must grieve and feel the pain of loss. It is crucial to making your heavy heart a little lighter.

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  9. Claudia Buddy James said...

    Bishop of I cannot begin to tell you how divine it was that I am reading this. I am crying as I write... I have been crying since last night.. Was an honestly not sure how many more tears can keep coming. I am grieving a marriage of 19 years.. Dreams that will not come to fruition as I had planned. Rejection is painful... But I know the Lord will not reject me or forsake me. I I just cannot stop crying.. I so for today I will mourn... Thank you again

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    1. Claudia Buddy James said...

      PS.. I I hate auto correct and honestly don't have the energy to go back and correct :-/

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    2. So sorry, Claudia...speaking peace and the strength to get you through the night tonight...

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  10. Bishop words spoken in season which will help me through this process of healing. I am a little down because I am use to bouncing back quickly. Not so fast this time. I am in the earth, however I will rise again. This too shall pass! Thanks !!

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  11. Ann Avion Jackson said...

    I grieve...but I can't wait to stand and stare again into loving eyes! Peace

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  12. Robert Rutherford said...

    Thankyou As a full time encourager, I find myself trying my best to "fake it 'til I make it" so as to set the example. Currently, I also find myself in a valley of sorts and I need to realize that it isn't a sin to sing the blues. It's all part of the mix, all in the game.

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  13. Tony Hyers said...

    Yen & yang brother. Balance. Light vs dark. It's all necessary.

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    Replies
    1. I was just thinking about you for some reason, just as you were posting this...

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    2. Tony Hyers said...

      Serendipity, I'm living some of the best moments in my life right now & my vibration rang your bell.

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