Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good work maketh it glad.
Just a quick entry today. I have been on overload the last couple of weeks and have not taken the time to post. But I am taking advantage of a couple of quiet moments before the kids are up to do just that!
I don’t know about you, but I can find myself wallowing in self pity. I’m mean – wallowing! It does not happen often. I generally try to be of an upbeat, joyful spirit, melancholy as my true nature might be. I have MUCH to be grateful for. I have been truly blessed. In so many ways. It would take me hours to list the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon me. But in between the mountain tops, there are valleys in everyone’s life. Even the richly blessed. There are times that my faith soars in the low vales of life. I reach out to those past experiences where God carried me through the valley and back to the mountainside. But there are days that I find myself in a stupor. A depressed, self-absorbed slump. I might take great lengths to pull myself out of the mire – but to no avail. I’m STUCK!
But there is a sort of miracle in the above verse. As I muse on it, I find it has a two-fold meaning. In those stooping heart experiences when we feel we’re at the bottom of the barrel and we need a “pick me up,” Solomon tells us that a good work maketh it glad.
There is nothing like an encouraging friend. A friend who detects your heartache and knows just the right words to help you through the hard times. It is vital to surround yourself with good friends, wise friends, godly, Christlike friends in times of trouble. Christians are to be a source of cheer for one another. We should weep with those that weep and rejoice with the rejoicing. In Philippians, we find Paul renewing his spirit from the church at Philippi as they took great lengths to reach out to him while he was in bonds. Paul allowed himself to be encouraged by his brethren.
But I also believe that Solomon was recommending the stooping heart to PERFORM a good work. Try it some time. When you find yourself in the kind of slump that can’t be shaken, make a mental effort to do something kind for someone else. It’s a guaranteed heart lifter! Find someone in need, whether it be a spiritual need, a physical need, a mental need. It might be someone you know, someone you work with, someone you dislike, someone you see on the street. It might be a phone call of encouragement (this is NOT a call to discuss your problems – it’s a listening call, a shoulder for your friend to cry on), a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, an offer to have a cup of Joe together, or some other kind gesture to show you care.
I am not suggesting that the above recommendations should be your sole source of encouragement. Absolutely not. The Lord is my Shepherd. He is my Light and my Salvation. He is the Rock upon which we can stand strong. After you have cast all of your burdens at his feet and you still feel that heaviness nagging at your heart, bake a batch of cookies and deliver it to the elderly in your life. See if you don’t walk with a lighter step.
In the hours leading to Jesus’ arrest in the garden and ultimately His death upon the cross, He knew He would soon be taking on the sin of mankind – He who knew no sin. Contrary to the belief of my children who are convinced that Christ’s struggle was the pain of the cross, it was our sin that he agonized over in the garden. Not death. He was suffering from the greatest heartache man has ever known. Yet during the last supper, He told Peter that He was praying for HIM, that his faith would fail not. He was concerned about his followers. His friends. His children. His preachers. His servants. Not himself. In the garden after his prayer meeting, when the soldiers came to take him away and Peter cut off the ear of the assailant, Jesus healed his enemy’s ear. On the cross, He looked at His earthly mother and proclaimed that the disciple care for her in his absence. In his greatest hours of need, He was concerned for others. He took on the burdens of others. He was encouraging others. What character to pattern our lives after!
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop. But a good work maketh it glad. A good work won’t get you a ticket to heaven. But Solomon guarantees it will give you a spring in your step :)
