FEELING THE PAIN OF OTHERS!

 

Monday, June 8, 2026

 

FEELING THE PAIN OF OTHERS!

 

John 11:33-35

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

35 Jesus wept.

 

          In the same way a service dog senses that something is not right with their patients, some of us have been gifted with the ability to sense pain in others. We see through the smiles and happy-go-lucky attitude to the depths of a person’s heart. I’m one of those people, but I don’t always appreciate this ability because there seems to be pain everywhere.

 

          I attended a police chaplain’s conference in Dallas several years ago and met some of the first responders to the Oklahoma City bombing. They told of the carnage they had to witness and how they gradually grew numb to the pain. Many of these ministers and counselors were still groaning in their spirit. They had seen and felt more than they were prepared for.

 

          The word “groaned” in verse 33 is the Greek embrimaomai which means “to snort with anger or to sigh with chagrin.” More than being sorrowful, Jesus was angry at death. Knowing this changes the tone of His question: “Where have ye laid him?” I hear a determined resolve to reverse the cause of pain. Only God could do this.

 

          As you go through this day keep a sharp eye out for the pain in others. Develop a firm resolve to reverse the cause of pain if possible. Then pay attention to yourself and do what Jesus often did. Steal away to some quiet place and talk to the Father so that your peace may return.

 

1 Cor 12:26

26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.

 

Lord, give me a keen insight into the pain of others and a heart to help. When I am worn, restore me that I might help again. AMEN

 

WASH ME

 

Sunday, June 7, 2026

 

WASH ME

 

Ps 51:1-2

51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

 

Ps 51:7

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 

          Twice in this Psalm David asks to be washed. He had sinned with his neighbor’s wife, produced a child, and had the husband killed. He then played the savior by marrying the widow and adopting the child as his own. Everything would have been fine had it not been for Nathan, the prophet who came to him and exposed the whole sordid mess. Now David has no need to hide or pretend. He is exposed and rightly asks for cleansing.

 

It is interesting that the Hebrew word for wash is kabac which is a primitive word meaning “to trample.” The idea is that the clothing was agitated by trampling with the feet. I don’t think it is coincidental, however, that our sin must be trampled before there is cleansing. Pride must be broken and self must yield. Otherwise, forgiveness and restoration is a farce. It is exoneration without justice.

 

Isa 1:18

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

 

Trample me, Lord, if that is what is necessary to make me clean! AMEN

 

OLD PICTURES

 

Saturday, June 6, 2026

 

OLD PICTURES

 

Isa 63:9

9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

 

          I’ve been going through old photographs and albums. I feel a bit like George Bailey who, though very troubled, discovered that his was A Wonderful Life! The pictures are frozen moments of time. Old cars, old friends, and old places are made new and fresh again by these slices of life.

 

          Not all of life is blessed! Some pictures remind me of painful and distressing times. Not all people are sweet, and some are just plain mean but Isaiah reminds us that “in all our affliction He is afflicted.”

 

          We don’t walk alone! The “angel of his presence” saves us! The word “save” here is yasha’ and means “to cause (the way) to be made wide; to be made safe; to set free.” Along the way Satan had set many snares, but the angel of His presence delivered me from them all.

 

          We may not see or sense God’s hand in our present circumstances but if we take a snapshot, and keep it in an old box, one day we can look back and clearly see the hand of God. We will remember that He carried us all the days of old.

 

Thank you, Lord, for your abiding presence throughout all the days of old. Thank you for your presence today. AMEN