Have you grieved for something other than the loss of a loved one? Has your heart felt heavy in your chest? Have you been heart sick? Have your shoulders drooped with the weight of your grief? Are you feeling the weight of your grief today? Do you know you are not alone?
We often think of grief coming when we lose a loved one. Yet, that is not the time we may grieve. We can grieve over many things: loss of a job, a broken relationship, or a horrific event in our community. Grief comes both when we expect it and when we don’t.
We may understand why we are grieving. We know the situation warrants it. But understanding why grief has come does not make it easier. It still feels as though there is a heavy weight sitting on our heart. We still feel depressed. We wonder how long it will last. We may put on a smiling face while silently carrying our grief inside.
Jeremiah, often called the weeping prophet, was grieving deeply over the nation of Israel. They had disobeyed God and God was punishing them for doing so. Jeremiah’s heart is heavy. He openly weeps over the nation. He asks how long before God will restore them. He desires they turn back to God, repent of their disobedience, and seek his forgiveness.
We, too, can grieve over the disobedience in our nation. We, too, can seek for people to repent of their disobedience. We, too, can ask God to forgive us of our disobedience. We can go to God on behalf of our community and our nation. God will hear our intercession for our community and our nation, just as he heard Jeremiah. It is better for us to intercede than to remain ambivalent. For God hears his children cry out to him.
I pray we all acknowledge our grief. I pray we cry out to God in our grief. I pray each one of us will intercede for our communities and our nation, asking God to restore us to him. Acknowledge your grief. Cry out to God. Intercede for your community. Intercede for our nation.
Jeremiah 8:18
My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick.
Marty Pressey 