2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Exodus 29:1-30:10 ESV, Matthew 26:14-46 ESV, Psalm 31:19-24 ESV, Proverbs 8:14-26 ESV
Daily Verse: “And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.” (Matthew 26:37 ESV)
LUPEO (3076): “To distress; to be sad; be sorrowful, grieve, make sorry, be sorry, sorrow, cause grief, be in heaviness.” [i]
Jesus experienced sorrow.
Jesus, knowing His mission, dying on the cross for our sins, heads to the garden to connect with God. Feeling sorrowful and troubled, Jesus asks Peter, James, and John to keep watch as He communes with the Father. When Jesus returns, He finds the disciples sleeping, not looking out for Him. Already sorrowful and troubled, betrayal gets added to the mix.
Yet Jesus persevered.
Sorrow’s path leads to joy, but we must experience the pain, not run from it. Jesus didn’t run. The Son’s strength came from the Father; we have access to the same power. Jesus endured earthly pain on His way to eternal joy. And so do we.
Everyone experiences heaviness.
For most of my life, I’ve avoided sorrow. Afraid of the emotion, I tried valiantly to prevent it. Whenever sorrowful feelings began to wrap their tendrils around my heart, I would find something to take my mind off the emotions.
Coping techniques help us deal with difficult emotions and live fuller lives. Identifying our feelings requires sitting in them for a moment, experiencing them. My go-to technique RAIN by Dr. Laurie Santos[ii]:
Recognize: Identify your feelings.
Allow: Permit yourself to feel.
Investigate: Understand your feelings.
Nurture: Become a friend to yourself
Jesus felt deeply. He experienced the same heartaches we do. Instead of running from His emotions, Jesus moved through them with His Father. In His darkest moments, Jesus prayed. Eventually, sorrow becomes joy.
[i] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p 153) Thomas Nelson
[ii] https://mindyourmind.ca/blog/using-rain-technique-part-2-happiness-lab-podcast-series
