Day 57 - Crying

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries                         LMCM

Nacogdoches, Texas                                                             Gal. 2:20 KJV

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 66       

Michael’s book is available through: 

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       almi@abidinglife.com

I heard a pastor give testimony several years ago of the positive results of his church “crying out to God” during their services through corporate prayer when one of the members came forward asking for prayer from the congregation.  I have tried this at churches where I have pastored, including one now, and have seen God respond to the “cry” of His people.  Michael opens new insights into something as simple as a baby’s cry, and how we can benefit from this knowledge.

DAY 57

Crying

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. --Psalm 126:5

Whatever Jesus did or said had eternal significance. Often I like to go through the gospels and only read the red-lettered words of Jesus; I love to hear His teaching. I thought recently that I should ponder the very first thing that He ever uttered while living as a Man on earth. Actually, it was not a word, but a sound, a cry. The first thing that came out of the mouth of Jesus was a cry. What is the message in God Himself crying, what does the cry of a baby solicit from us, and what have our own tears taught us?

The cry of a baby demands examination of the situation by the parents and their provision of what is needed. A cry is a proclamation of helplessness, dependence, trust, and need, the recognition that “I cannot.” If Jesus would acknowledge His existence in such a way, then should we not also? When we cry, we are heard by the same Father in heaven who heard Him. 

There is simply too much stress that comes from not crying. Several years ago a chemical was discovered in the brain of anxiety-ridden people. For years chemists have attempted to neutralize the chemical in hopes of bringing relief to the suffering. To date no medication has proven effective. However, if the tears of the afflicted are analyzed, one will find the anxiety-causing chemical being released. Tears acknowledge the true condition within that we cannot always see or express. We were not created to be God but to need God. Trying to fulfill a job description for which we are not created causes anxiety. Tears are proof that we have begun to give up on playing God. It is pride that keeps us from crying out and therefore keeps us in misery. 

If we humans run to the sound of a cry and act on behalf of a distressed person, how much more will the Lord respond to the cries of His children? Just as parents do not always pander to a child’s every cry, the Lord does not always intervene immediately to relieve our sources of misery; but as we acknowledge, “Apart from You I can do nothing,” look for the Great “I CAN” to eventually move in. Both our waiting and His moving build faith.

Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point      Green – IT, Incredible Truth        

Red – GP, Greatest Promises

Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches           Pink – PV, Priceless Victory

Note the criteria Michael gives in getting rid of stress:

1.      A cry is a proclamation of helplessness, dependence, trust and need, the recognition that “I cannot.”

2.    There is simply too much stress that comes from not crying.

3.    If the tears of the afflicted are analyzed, one will find the anxiety-causing chemical being released.

4.    We were not created to be God but to need God.

5.    Trying to fulfill a job description for which we are not created causes anxiety.

6.    It is pride that keeps us from crying out and therefore keeps us in misery.

 It is astonishing that the chemical found in the brain of anxiety-ridden people is actually released when the person cries.  It is almost as astonishing that doctors and those working with the anxiety-afflicted persons have ignored God’s remedy, and…oh, well, what would we expect from those who ignore God?  Man, ignoring God, has always turned to a chemically-balancing drug instead of God’s remedy for dealing with a chemical imbalance.  Duh?  Something going on in man has caused the imbalance in the first place.  Godly people want God’s wisdom to find the cause of the imbalance and how God has intended man to deal with the cause. When man ignores God, God lets man’s mind wander to man’s attempts at solutions apart from God’s ways of living and solving problems.

Pretty simple analysis from Michael, isn’t it?  So, why don’t more Christians “cry out” to God?  Why don’t more Christians come to the church, the staff, or to another Christian to get support, instead of bearing so much anxiety?  Why hasn’t the church created ministry opportunities that the members feel comfortable with, to bring their anxieties and get the relief that God wants to provide?

The Great “I CAN” has answers to ALL problems.  When we proclaim our “helplessness, dependence, trust and need, the recognition that ‘I cannot’“, then the Great “I CAN” WILL move in.  What are we waiting on???

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NOTICE: beginning in January, 2014, a new blog on Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness.

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

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