“To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.” Is. 61:3-4
Today’s Christian Daily Devotional
Right now my heart is mourning. I am looking at a picture of a friend I hold many precious memories of. I have enjoyed many holidays, cried many tears with, and celebrated many happy milestones with him as well. I pretty much considered him family. Nothing can be sadder than seeing a friend that is still alive yet, deep in your heart, you know that you have lost them. (The loss is a choice and a separation on their part.) As my heavy heart has to move on, my tender memories keep pulling me back. I suppose that God feels the same way about us sometimes. He invested so much of Himself when He formed each one of us tenderly in our mother’s womb. He has dreams and aspirations of our future with Him, and as free will allows; we can make a choice to allow Him into our life or shut the door on any kind of relationship. A relationship takes two people to work. In Isaiah 61:3-4 God promises that His children will recover from their sadness, that God Himself will make up for the losses we endure for His sake. Sometimes loving God will mean that the people we love will stop loving us. Although this is a tough truth to handle, the Lord promises us great things on the other side of this heartache. Are you hurting because of your relationship with God? God sees that and He is touched by your sacrifice for Him. Turn to Him for comfort, and in time you will see that He always delivers what He promises to. Just expect Him too. He won’t let you down, like people can.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart hurts so much right now. I know that in your Word, you spoke of the losses that I would suffer the moment I made a stand for you, but I was not expecting my good friends to desert me! In the past, these people were the ones I could count on when life got rough. Life is getting rough, and it is painful to see that my support system is no longer in service. I realize now how much it must have hurt you when I turned my back on you…and depended on other people/things to fill my happiness. The kind of happiness I had was only temporary, as I was still searching for something. When I found you, for the first time, I felt complete! Joy is the only word to describe it. I figured that the ones who said they loved me would be happy that I was now fulfilled. But, they weren’t. Although I am missing my former friends, I know that the joy that you provide is worth the sacrifice. Thank you for loving me when no one else did. I am determined to stick this “dry season” out. Help me to rely on you as you are the only one that promises to never leave me or forsake me. I don’t want to be the one that leaves you the moment things get rough. Lord, help me to be just as reliable to you as you are to me, as that is the least I could do. In Jesus’ precious name, give me patience to wait for the treasures (friendships!) on the other side of this trial, Amen.”