When the Heart is Heavy, Then What?

When the Heart Is Heavy, Then What? 

I’m going to talk specifically to those of us who currently have or have had what we might call “A Heavy Heart”. Heavy hearts ain’t no fun, as we used to say in the hills of Tennessee.

I’ve often not known what to do in the middle of my heavy heart moments. Have you? Perhaps you’re going through one of those times even now, in this moment of reading this.

Heavy Heart times are caused by those circumstances in life that just about crush us to death. The load is so heavy, the burden is so awesomely great, and the issue looms very large. We find ourselves scratching our head, wringing our hands, and wondering if God is anywhere nearby and does He hear and see you and me, and even care about what in the world is happening right now, this very minute.

And then some well-meaning spiritual super-power comes along and says, “well, Honey, you just need to pray more.”

Pray? I can’t even tie my shoes for the weight of this “thing” I’m carrying. “Pray” you say. 

Here’s the thing.

When the heart is so heavy, and the weight of the world seems to be resting on your shoulders in the awful times of life, maybe, perhaps, all you and I can utter is HELP! Now I used all caps and an explanation mark, but sometimes it comes out “help”. Or perhaps

H. E. L. P. !

And do you know what? God hears that kind of prayer too. Oh my. Yes indeed.

I’ve prayed that prayer before. Once someone near to me relapsed on a drug addiction that I thought was well behind her. I was so unprepared for that experience. I didn’t know what to do nor where to turn. All I could utter was “help”. (Lower case intended)

Maybe today is the day you pray the most acceptable prayer ever uttered. It’s nothing fancy. It’s not long. It’s not profound. It’s not eloquent. It’s a great cry for the God of the universe to come down and touch you in some unique way that only you need in that moment. It is a miracle prayer of one word, and this one-word-prayer gets attention.

Is your life a train wreck?
Have you made some really horrible decisions?
Is your past about to catch up with you?
Are you in a despicable and deplorably situation and you don’t know which way to turn?

This I know. A prayer like “Help” spoken in great moments of desperation and with a sincere heart gets attention from God himself.

He already knows what you did, or said, and what you are doing or have done. He wants so much for you to turn around and come to Him. He’s listening for your call.

I believe that with my whole heart.

Ann Lamott said this in here book, Help Thanks Wow:

“Prayer means that, in some unique way,

we believe we’re invited into a relationship

with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.”

So, step right up. You don’t have to get dressed up, put on your shoes, wear a necktie or a string of pearls, or even smell pretty. Just approach and say the words as you turn toward God: HELP! Help. help.

I don’t know in what form God will answer, but in time He will answer. It may be through another person, or it may be an idea that pops into your own mind, but God hears.

God hears.

P Michael Biggs

Internet Church Blogsite

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Oh, the Places Where God Has Been with Me

 Oh, the Places Where God Has Been with Me

In October 2017, I had my first-ever angiogram so my cardiologist could look at my heart to discover the blockage and damage that had occurred. I was afraid. My blood pressure was high as I lay on that surgery-room table. And God was with me.

In December 2017 I had open heart surgery resulting in three heart bypasses. God was with me through it all.  As I lay in the surgery prep area the attending nursing staff had to shave the front part of my upper body. I was afraid. I was tearful, and God was with me.

I’ve gone through bankruptcy and wondered if I’d ever repair my credit rating again. God was with me through all of that.

I’ve had love go sideways, and God has been with me.

When the creditors called and wanted to repossess my new Ford Taurus, God was there.

In job changes, in job losses, in the pursuit of career paths, God was there.

In the hard decisions – about careers, homes, cities to live in, whether to move or not, and a dozen other decisions that are tough to make; in every situation, God has been the steady hand, the guiding still-small-voice always looking on and always prompting, always impressing me as to which path to take.

There are some giants that I have admired during my years of living – men and women I have and still do look up to. Billy Graham was one. Here’s what I read one day a few years ago.

God spoke and said, “I don’t need Billy Graham more than I need you.”

What? But I’m not a famous person. I’m a nobody in the grand scheme of things. And yet, God said He needed me just as much as Mr. Graham. How can it be?

I’ve read of numerous accounts in the scriptures of how God has used ‘nobodies’ and made them useful.

Mary was a peasant girl, perhaps fourteen, and God used her to birth the Christ-child.

He used a prostitute or two as examples – one of which was the woman about to be stoned. His words were simple – “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

He used David, a striking, good-looking lad who later committed adultry and then had the woman’s husband killed in battle. That’s a long fall from grace, and David came back and was claimed as, my words, “The apple of God’s eye.”

Peter denied Christ three times and look at the impact he had on Christianity and the spread of the gospel.

Do you see the places where God has been with people down through history? He goes to the depths of the mud and back to bring redemption and grace, forgiveness, and healing. And He gives peace and His presence in the middle of the mundane moments of our lives.

I know what it is like when the presence of God invades an operating room with His peace and settling presence.
I’ve experienced His calm assurance in the middle of trauma, in family crises, in the death of family members, and when in financial need. God has met me in these places, and I am a living witness to His grace, mercy, and peace.

I am nothing special. I’m not famous. I’m not rich or influential, and I don’t own the largest house in the city, and yet, God has been with me in the good and the bad times of life.

And this same grace is available to you, regardless of your name, rank, serial number, bank account balance, skin color, language you speak, or status in society.

You are loved and graced with the presence of God, who watches over you. He never sleeps. He never takes His eyes off you. He never takes a vacation, and He cares for you oh, so much.

One of the strong Bible verses that has stood the test of time in my life is Joshua 1:9.

“Be not afraid nor dismayed, for I the Lord your God

will be with you wherever you go!”

That is indeed an encouraging word for today.

Internet Church

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Is God Mad at Me?

 Is God Mad at Me?

What a strong question that one is. Does God get mad at us? Does He write us off after some slight mistake, sin, forgetfulness moment, or if our check book gets out of balance?

Let me tell you about a conversation I had.

Cindy and I were talking one day at work, and she was complimenting me on some of my blogs that she had read recently. I casually asked her what she thought of God, and here is what she said.

“Oh, He’s kind, and loving, and forgiving, and my best friend.”

I stopped her at that point and said, “That’s all well and good, but what do you really think about God?’

She paused a moment and then said, “I think God is mad at me.”
Oh, my. What a statement. I asked questions and she filled in the blanks.

“One day, I was cooking spaghetti and had a large skillet of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. My ten-year-old daughter, Jenny, came into the kitchen and grabbed the handle of the skillet and poured the spaghetti all over her body. She screamed in pain and blisters began popping out all over her body. God must hate me for that to have happened to Jenny.”

I sent up one of those quick prayers for immediate help and wisdom and then answered.

“Oh, Cindy. No, no, no. God is not mad at you. Jenny was an innocent girl, whose curiosity got in the way, and she just happened to pull the handle of the pot down upon her body. God didn’t make her do that, and God is certainly not mad at you. Oh, please believe me. I could never in my wildest imagination picture a God who would do something like that.”

We can assign to God some strange and interesting acts, but is God really at fault?

The simple answer ... we humans have a will, and we get to make choices. That is our greatest power, and one that God will never take from us nor override in our lives. We Chose!

The great news is this: God is not mad at us.

God is not an ogre. He is not looking for us to step out of line just even a little bit so He can zap us. And He’s not looking for the smallest of reasons to put us in time out.

The most famous Bible verse of all time is John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, And whoever believes in Him shall be saved.”

God loves the world. That means any evil person you might name, your contrary neighbor who puts his garbage can in the middle of your driveway, that customer that is always snarly and never smiles, and your curious daughter who just might happen to pull a pot of hot spaghetti sauce onto her head. God loves us! A reminder ... God never promises to keep bad things from happening to us, but He does promise to be with us in the middle of the bad things.

Remember what I wrote 2 paragraphs above? God is not an ogre. I want to borrow this thought from Ann Lamont and her great little book Help ... Thanks ... Wow.

“Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union, even if we are bitter or insane or broken. (In fact, these are probably the best possible conditions under which to pray.) Prayer is taking a chance that against all odds and past history, we are loved and chosen, and do not have to get it together before we show up. The opposite may be true. We may not be able to get it together until after we show up in such miserable shape.

You see, in my 73 years of living, I have rarely had it all together. I’ve had moments of brilliant spiritual living, and I’ve had the dogdays and months and perhaps years of missing the mark, falling short, stepping out of line,

and wanting my own way. And all through the good and the bad, God never stopped loving me. He never, to my knowledge, got mad at me, and he never caused a bad thing to happen to bring me back into line.

I’ve caused bad things to happen because of my choices. I’ve acted foolishly, said the wrong thing at the wrong time, and treated others with less than grace and love, but never has God gotten mad at me.

I’ve disappointed God. Oh my, don’t let me count the ways.

And His love keeps on flowing down to me. His grace and mercy are ever present and abundant in my life.

Are you wanting to blame somebody for the bad that happens in your life? Don’t blame God. Blame Joe, my neighbor. He’s not doing anything worthwhile. He cusses, he goes to places he shouldn’t, and he drives like a mad man. Blame Joe. He’s not doing anything.

Look at this amazing verse:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us; that we should
be called children of God! And that is what we are!
I John 3:1

Again, the question: Is God mad at me? Not in a million years.
But He does love you with furious love!

Internet Church
P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration