A Time to Mourn Larry Alverio Many try to hide their emotions. Yet, human emotion is one of the key differences separating us from the animals. Mourning can be a powerful way to develop a deeper connection with our Creator.
G rowing up, I saw the example of my father, a very stern man seem- ingly devoid of emotions. He was raised by a very mean stepfather. Being the oldest of six children, my dad had a lot placed on his shoul- ders. He had to quit school by the time he was in the sixth grade to work. He was witness to how his stepfather repeatedly mistreated his mother. Looking back, I can clearly see how this impacted our family— especially the boys. Subconsciously, we tended to hide our emotions. In those days every- body—classmates in school, our friends and family—were expected to suppress our feelings. We were told that young men don’t cry, so we were tough, no one ever dared display their emotions. We thought doing so made us look lesser and weak.
Satan the devil also wants us to be- lieve that expressing our emotions is wrong or weak. This is a lie—a counterfeit used to hide God’s love and its expression.God made us and gave us emotions, and we are to dis- play them in the way He intended. For example, in the book of Ecclesi- astes, it tells us there is a time to ex- press ourselves—even to weep and to mourn. Did you catch that? Solo - mon writes in Ecclesiastes 3:2-4: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. Mourning is a very special time that God has designed for us. He wants us to come to Him in our broken- ness. Isaiah 57:15 tells us: For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eterni - ty, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
God, who is above all and knows all, knows when we truly need Him—especially in our brokenness. He wants to revive us. It may feel like God is so distant from us, but in reality, He is even closer than we think. Psalm 34:18 states: The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart; And saves such as have a contrite spirit, On the sixth day of the recreation week God created mankind in His image and likeness. We are of the “god” kind—physically and men- tally like Him. God In Genesis 1:26–27 it states: Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have do - minion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. We have feelings of laughter, of despair, of sadness, even hurt and
Jesus demonstrated His deep compassion for human suffering Drawing Near
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