The past few weeks my heart has been heavy with a weight I have not been able to shake. I didn’t understand what was going on until I woke up with a scripture from Ecclesiastes on my mind.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us “to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:” Verse 4 reminds us that there is a season to mourn.”
After meditating on the scripture for a while, I called a friend and asked her to pray with me. She asked me to describe what it would look like if I were sitting in a garden with Jesus. I saw myself sitting next to Jesus on a white bench. My head was resting against His chest, and I could hear His heartbeat. I once again heard the words, “A time to mourn.”
Psalm 30:11 tells us that God will turn our mourning into dancing. Sometimes we have to mourn before we can dance.
I believe God is calling the body of Christ to mourn. As you and I draw close to the heart of God we may shed a few tears, but more importantly, we will shed our blinders. Hearing His heartbeat awakens us to feel His hurt and motivates us to intercede, to grow, and to go.
I believe God’s heart is hurting because of the loss of innocence and the loss of lives.
His heart is hurting because our classrooms and churches have become places of violence.
His heart is hurting because the film and music industries and social media are bombarding people with violence, perversity, and other messages that speak against their identities in Christ.
His heart is hurting because people are self-medicating through drugs and alcohol.
His heart is hurting because He sees every baby that’s being ripped apart in his/her mother’s womb.
His heart is hurting because women and children are being kidnapped and sold into the sex slave industry.
His heart is hurting because pornography has taught people to objectify one another instead of to love one another.
His heart is hurting because people are trying to live out their destinies in fantasy worlds on a computer screen instead of taking hold of the good plans He has for them.
His heart is hurting because many in the church are practicing a form of godliness but denying its power (His power to transform lives.)
His heart is breaking because lives are broken.
His heart is breaking because He cares. He cares about the widows and the orphans. He cares about the abandoned and the persecuted. He cares about the confused and the hopeless. He cares about the battered and the broken. He cares equally for the violent and the victim. He loves the successful just as much as He loves the one who has failed a thousand times. He loves the atheist as much as the one who adores Him and praises Him all day long.
Because He cares He wants us to care.
Allowing God to break our hearts over what breaks His heart brings us revelation and ignites a passion in us to make a difference.
In the 1830’s a man named George Mueller got a glimpse of God’s heart for orphans. His mourning turned to dancing when the heavy burden for these precious children led him to start the first orphanage in Bristol England. During his lifetime he cared for over 10,024 orphans. He also established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000 children, many who were orphans.
He had to grieve over what grieved the heart of God before He could dance in victory with God—celebrating transformed lives.
David Wilkerson founded Teen Challenge because God broke his heart for drug addicts. Hospitals and shelters have been established because of broken hearts wanting to make a difference. Ministries often rise up from the ashes of pain. Bearing the burden of God’s heart in prayer equips us to bear one another’s burdens.
The joy of the Lord is our strength, but knowing what grieves His heart is often our fuel. Sometimes we need to sow in tears to reap a harvest.
Grieving over what grieves the heart of God is leading me to dance on past graves and write another book. How about you? Is your heart breaking? Are you mourning loss or injustice? Is God stirring you to make a difference?
If so, I believe the Lord is going to open some new doors for you.
Get ready to dance!
May you be abundantly blessed,
Jeannie