GRIEF RESOURCES
If you or someone you love is dealing with issues related to grief or depression, there is help. We have compiled this list of resources that are available to help you cope during your time of despair. Help is available. Further, besides your own personal physician, "we are here for you." Please reach out!
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Parish Nurse, Jill Fox (865) 254-1673
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Pastor Amy (865) 982-6192 CLICK HERE
Cast Your Cares On The Lord
When life wears us down, our spirits can become dry. Life can just become overwhelming. Too often this happens because we try to carry the load all by ourselves. That is exactly how the Psalm writer felt... My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. Psalm 55:3-5
Listen to one desperate sixteen year-old girl, who calls herself "suffocating"....
Sometimes I have to wonder if anyone really
cares about me. I have suicidal thoughts,
and have told people seeking some help.
I was only met with disbelief. No one takes
it seriously when I tell them, even though
I am not joking.
I started taking the skin off my arm, but
still no one cares. No one, not my family,
not my friends, care enough about me to help.
If I killed myself would they care?
Just reading her story
brought me to tears and to prayer. Unfortunately she is not alone. Most
of us do not realize that there are people we know, people we work with,
people in our church, maybe even people in our homes, who are
overwhelmed by life. When we do realize someone is that desperate, we
cannot ignore them or think that there is nothing we can do.
You can immediately...
1. Pray
2. Let the person know you care.
3. Offer encouragement.
4. Try to get the person professional help.
5. Rally their family and friends around them.
6. Make them promise they will call you if they are suicidal.
However, please no not try to fix them and don't tell them to "Cheer up."
What about us? How do we keep from getting to that point?
Or if we are already in this pit of despair, how do we get out?
Recognize that you do not have to carry your cares by yourself. We like
to be independent. We would rather do it ourselves. We hate to admit we
need help. Moses was in that situation. He was trying to be a mediator
between God and the people and between all the people that had any
disputes.
Fortunately for Moses there was someone in his life to point out the
problem: his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro saw that Moses was on the
verge of collapse so he said to him... That isn't the best way to
do it. You and the people who come to you will soon be worn out.
The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone.
Exodus 18:17-18
Did you hear what Jethro said? You can't do it alone. That's not just for Moses' benefit. It is for us too. You can't do it alone.
When life wears you down, share your burdens. Let others know what is
going on in you life, in your spirit, in your faith.
Instead of trying to carry it all yourself, cast your worries and cares
on the Lord. This takes personal discipline. It is not intuitive or easy
for many of us. Instead we tend to internalize our worries, our cares,
our burdens and our anxieties. That does not help. In 1 Peter we are
instructed to... Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares
for you. 1 Peter 5:7 TNIV
It makes no sense to worry and be anxious about things that are out of
our control. We need to learn to pray daily the words of the Serenity
Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr...
God grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Peace can come to our
hearts, minds and spirits as we consciously cast our cares upon the
Lord, asking him to resolve them and to bring assistance, comfort and
encouragement to us. It means we need to be willing to let go and trust
God. The Psalm writer tells us... Cast your cares on the LORD and
he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm
55:22
Otherwise we are choked by life's cares and worries. Then our spiritual
life takes a distant back seat to the stresses of modern life. However,
as we cast our cares on God, God will sustain us. God can keep us from
being shaken no matter what the circumstances of life. For we may be...
...hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but
not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not
destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NIV
We believe with confidence that... Evening, morning and noon I
cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17 TNIV
God hears our cries and answers them. God sustains us even in the most
difficult times of life and death. So receive the peace and rest Jesus
offers. Jesus invites us to come to him and bring him all the burdens of
life that are dragging us down. He does not want us to struggle through
life loaded down with heavy burdens far too much for us to carry alone.
So Jesus promises us peace and rest... Come to me, all you that
are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 NLT
Because we always seem to be bogged down with something, Jesus offers us
peace, his perfect peace... Peace I leave
with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John
14:27 TNIV
In 1871, tragedy struck Chicago as fire ravaged the city. When it was
all over, 300 people were dead and 100,000 were homeless. Horatio Gates
Spafford was one of those who tried to help the people of the city get
back on their feet. He was a lawyer who had invested much of his money
into downtown real estate. The Chicago fire caused him enormous
financial losses. His one son died about the same time. Still, for two
years Spafford assisted the homeless, the poor, and the grief-stricken
ruined by the fire.
After about two years of such work, Spafford and his family decided to
take a vacation. They were to go to England to join Dwight Moody
and Ira Sankey on one of their evangelistic crusades and then travel in
Europe. Spafford was delayed by some business, but he sent his wife and
four daughters on ahead. He would catch up to them on the other side of
the Atlantic. Their ship, the Ville de Havre, never made it. Off
Newfoundland, it collided with an English sailing ship and sank within
20 minutes. Spafford s wife, Anna, was able to cling to a piece of
floating wreckage.
She was one of only 47 survivors among hundreds of passengers. Their
four daughters, Maggie, Tanetta, Annie, and Bessie, drowned. Spafford
received the horrible telegram from his wife. It was only two words:
saved alone. Spafford boarded the next available ship to be near his
grieving wife. Spafford was led during those days of overwhelming grief
to pen the words to of 'Peace Like A River'...
When peace like a river, attendeth my way;
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet,
though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul
It is well, it is well, with my soul
Are your spirits dry because
your heart, mind and spirit are weighed down with care, worry and
anxiety?
Quit trying to carry them all yourself. Ask for help. Give them to Jesus
and receive his perfect peace. Amen
--A Devotion from "Online With Faith"