Handling a Heavy Heart

   My heart is heavy right now. It is heavy on behalf of a friend who is going through a very hard situation. And as I grieve for my friend, I wonder how God desires me to feel. Are my emotions legitimate? Do they matter to God? And it is as this point that God directed me to the Psalms. Because here, I see David going through hard times in a similar way that I do. How does the man after God's own heart respond to hard times? He could have done one of three things: He could have 1) broken down and become an emotional train wreck. We see this happening a lot today. People do not handle stress very well. They will take anything to relieve themselves of stress. Running away seems to be our best option so often. He could have 2) denied that he was feeling this way. A lot of our "Christian" answers do this. "Let go and let God!" "What would Jesus do?" Or he could have 3) given his troubles and emotions over to God. This is why we see David saying to God so often, "God, please just destroy these evil people who are troubling me... I wish I was never born...Why are you silent, God?" and so on. He is not complaining against the Lord of the universe, but instead, he is giving his grief over to God. But then he always ends those laments with an affirmation of his trust in God's perfect sovereignty. He recognizes that God has things under control at the end of the day.

It is totally legitimate to grieve,
feel pain, and suffer. 

   It is totally legitimate to grieve and feel pain and suffer. God gave you emotions. But how do you express them? Do you allow things to set you off at any drop of a pin? Do you suppress them, and sweep them under the rug? Or do you trust in the one who made planet earth, that he is keeping things running exactly as he planned? By all means, express all of your emotions to the fullest. Feel the pain. Experience the confusion. And let it be known. Don't be fake. Don't hide anything in your heart from God. He knows it anyway. But at the end of the day, remember that it is God's good and perfect will that prevails. He is the one who will carry you through the storm and bring you to the peaceful shore at the other end.