Determining to Let Sorrows Come and Go

Wednesday Wanderings is a time we set aside to wander in the Presence of Jesus and ponder His truths. When you are ready, prepare your soul to have a transformational encounter with Jesus.

Watch the Wednesday Wanderings Welcome for this week.

Now that we have cleared our minds of the clutter, we can wander on the journey with Jesus.

PREPARATION: In our last Wandering with Dr. Sherri, we examined Thought Idols and finished our reflections from “Holy Spirit, Light Divine”. This week we begin a journey through “It Is Well with My Soul” ponder Determining to Let Sorrows Come and Go. When you are ready, you may begin the dialogue with Jesus and state: “Jesus, I invite you to help me to leisurely wander into your Presence. Prepare my heart to receive, and illuminate my spiritual senses to encounter you.”

PROMISE: 2 Kings 4:26

Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.

This is a fascinating story from 2 Kings, but suffice it to say, sometimes when we say all is well, we may not really mean it.

Spafford puts forth a powerful truth here which cost him greatly to learn. If you do not know the story, you may watch more about it here. He lost four daughters at sea and it is said he penned these words about “sorrows like sea billows” near the spot where their ship is likely to have gone down.

PARABLE:  When the mother in this story says these words to Elisha’s servant, it seems as though she was only saying them to be able to get close the the prophet, for when she did she fell at his feet pleading for her son who had died. Elisha sent his servant ahead but he was unable to raise him. Even Elisha fails at first but persists and is able to raise the boy to life.

The Shunammite woman was wealthy and had used her means to care for Elisha by providing him a place to stay whenever he traveled near her home. He wished to show his gratitude and promised here a son, though her husband was old. This precious son became ill with a headache and died, and her first response is to go the the man of God. This turns out to be an excellent expression of faith.

This is a very interesting story as we consider the different characters, their words and roles in it, and the outcome. Like Spafford, the woman was able to say all is well, even when her soul was likely not feeling well. Unlike the woman, Spafford did not see his daughters raised, but it did not keep him from declaring “it is well.”

Both are truly incredible stories of faith in action which leave us pondering what our response might be as we wander along our path of faith.

PONDER and WANDER:  If you choose, Ponder the questions: How will I respond when faced with the most difficult of trials to the wellness of my soul?

This soul training contemplative exercise can assist us in determining how we hope to respond in those moments. Making that decision now greater impacts the likelihood we will at least approximate it when the time comes.

Soul care training exercise: If you choose, complete this week’s soul training exercise.

• When you are ready, clear your mind and invite the Holy Spirit to help you Imagine the sea billows of sorrow that will come at some point in the future.
• Next,  begin your slow and steady breath, like the ebb and flow of waves- remember a past sorrow, and how it made you feel. Like the waves on a beach, think of how they come with such power, and retreat with such seeming gentleness. Determine not to fight that flow, but instead let them come and go.  Imagine you are the shore, and though the waves my pound, your soul will be well.
• Then, let each sorrow come one at a time, and then retreat with calmness, even though it has likely changed you a bit.
• Finally, thank God that even when the waves sweep something away, His love for your and the power to overcome it provides remains intact.

PRAYER: Jesus, I decide to trust You to care for my soul even when the waves of sorrow assail me. There is no stopping them, just like the waves of a storm on the sea, but that does not mean they have to be the end of me. Help me to trust You to keep my soul well, even in the tempest. I determine now to rest in You through it all. In Your powerful name I pray, Amen. 

PRAISE: Now that you have emptied your mind of the clutter and wandered with Jesus, take a closing moment to think of Jesus and let the work of your wandering fill you with thoughts that confirm God’s Word.

Then take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes of wandering into the next ones and beyond.

Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Determining to Let Sorrows Come and Go appeared first on Resonant 7.

_{Image Attributions:}
Elisha Raising the Shunammite Woman’s Son – https://www.speedmuseum.org/collections/elisha-raising-the-shunammites-son/
_{Sorrows like Sea Billows Roll – https://pixabay.com/photos/recco-sea-storm-storm-pano-4277787/}