I woke up this morning unable to see across the street because of the fog and mist. It’s funny; there is something about the weather that always seems to mirror the internal state of one’s mind. …Do you find that too?
That’s true of me this week; there is a heaviness that I can’t quite shake. Even in the midst of finishing classes and grading final papers and writing reports—a season usually filled with the sunshine of the soul because school. is. out.—this season, like every step of this school year, is filled with a fog and mist. Watching my students graduate in ceremonies that are significantly altered because of “COVID rules”, having to celebrate the finishing of a very significant chapter via Zoom, having to send these precious ones off into the Great Unknown in the midst of the great unknown… It’s heavy and daunting.
I’ve been reflecting on this, and have realized that, after 16 months of being locked up, the Canadian people are in the most dangerous position of all: we are languishing and that makes us very vulnerable.
There seems to be a sense now, that if we just do what the government tells us to (vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate!) and to avoid what the government tells us to avoid (social visits, gatherings, and church!), we will get through this. And so, because we are languishing and very very tired, we go along to get along. The danger is that we can let down our guard because we are tired. This is the time when we look for any hope to hold fast to because we’re tired of believing in what we cannot see.
The movies I’ve been watching lately seem to highlight this. My husband and I seem to be in rut of serial bad movies. Every movie we watch just seems to be so depressing! The movie starts out so well, but then, because of bad choices and wrong turns, the main character is debilitated by their grief or guilt, and the movie ends in death of some kind. After the third movie of this sort, I found myself reflecting again on this idea of the location of hope: these characters have hope that if they just do a better job of hiding the lie, or killing all forces against them, or winning the battle, they will be saved. But in the end, both the character and movie fall flat, joyless, without hope. …The character languishes because of their sin.
Deuteronomy 28: 58-68 warns that if we aren’t careful to obey the Scriptures in fear of His glorious and awesome name, the Lord our God, we will languish. He tells us that “among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul” (verse 65).
But for you, dear friend, if you know Jesus, this does not have to be the case! Because your feet stand on the Solid Rock, you don’t have to put our hope in things of this world. You can stand up under the greatest heaviness of all. You don’t have to languish forever!
In Jeremiah 31, the iconic Weeping Prophet prophesies of a time when Jehovah will turn our mourning into joy. Through Jeremiah, God says, “For I will satisfy the weary soul and every languishing soul I will replenish” (verse 25). This verse is a whispered foreshadow of the God-Man’s own words in Matthew 11:28-30 where He says,
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
As Spurgeon points out, this is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus tells us about His very heart. …And it’s not what we expect, is it? He is not impatient and irritated with us and our never-ending problems with our own sin. He’s gentle and lowly. And the writer of Hebrews reminds us that, since we have a perfect mediator who can sympathize with every weakness, weight, sin, and trouble, who has been tested in every way we have and yet didn’t sin in any of it, we are to “hold to our confession” of who He is, we are to “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus is the answer when our souls languish. And He is the answer because He knows.
So friend, are you languishing? Do you find yourself feeling blah and joyless and without direction? This, too, can you cast unto the Lord because He cares for you. Take your languishing to the Lord. Repent of any and all sin in your heart. Ask the Lord to give you confidence to hold fast. And then wait on and in and for Him to do as He has promised.
Because the rain doesn’t last forever. Eventually, the storm clouds and fog do clear and the sun shines down. Trust that, even though you can’t see it, the sun shines, and in the same way, the Son always shines. He is faithful. He will carry you through even this—even though you can’t even see across the street.
And I don’t know the end, or tomorrow’s story
But I have found the one who gives me rest
And I will make my bed in His promises
For He holds true when nothing’s left… When nothing’s leftThe beauty that has come
And the beauty yet to come
And the beauty that is yours and that is mine
And that death produces life
And that we are made alive
By the King who paints beauty with time
By the King who paints beauty with time
By the King who paints beauty with timeexcept from “Time” by John Lucas
What you’ll find here is a collection of musings, thoughts, writings, and ramblings about things I’m reading, watching, and thinking about. It’s my goal to inspire, encourage, and instruct my fellow sisters in their walk with Jesus and their understanding of the Word.
- Erika Recommends: Best Books of 2021 - December 15, 2021
- Slow-Going in the Fast Lane - October 14, 2021
- A Taste You Can Feel In Your Cheeks - September 29, 2021
