Irvin Wasswa-Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC

Psalm 125:1-2
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore

In 1989 Nike produced one of the most famous commercials of the time involving the great Michael Jordan and the film producer Spike Lee. The commercial involves Spike Lee asking Michael what makes him the best basketball player in the universe. He asks if it was the long basketball shorts, his haircut, or his signature basketball shoes that make the difference, all to which Michael responds with an emphatic no. As the commercial wraps up Spike Lee’s character repeatedly says to Michael “IT’S GOTTA BE THE SHOES” that makes the difference in his game. The brilliance of the commercial was that it sold the viewer on the thought that if you purchased and wore the Air Jordan shoes then you would become Michael Jordan himself. The commercial had the viewer believing the shoes were the “secret sauce” for the success of the athlete, and as a result the company has sold many “Air Jordan shoes” since then.  

For many there is this thought that there is a “secret sauce” when it comes to dealing with pain, loss, hurt, and brokenness in your life and the life of others. Whether it is becoming more busy to distract from the hurt or running to activities to help numb it, many of us find ourselves trying to find the answer for dealing with it. However, what we find is that those certain methods just  leave us with the same feeling of sorrow, pain, and weariness.

The reason being is because we are not running to the Lord with our pain. In Psalm 125 it speaks to the Lord being close to us. He is able to be trusted, so we ought to entrust Him with our pain and hurt knowing that He is able to comfort us in the midst of it (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), We can entrust our hurt to Him knowing that He is able to sustain us in the midst of our grief (Psalm 55:22). He is able to heal  So the call for us is to run to Him. 

As one who has been currently walking through grief and pain over what has happened in my life this past year, I am here to testify that there really is no secret sauce when it comes to how to deal with pain and struggle. The answer is not just compartmentalizing it, nor is it running away from it or drowning it out; it is casting it on the Lord and allowing Him to heal you. Choose to run to Him and let Him heal you today. He is ever near to us.

Psalm 55:22-
Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord, I love you! Thank you for caring for me. I bring my hurt to you today asking for you to walk with me through it and bring healing to my heart and soul. In Jesus’  name, Amen!

MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK:
Psalm 46:11
The Lord of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.