Waves of Grief, Springs of Joy
Sermonette Transcript
After hearing Tini speak yesterday I decided to change my talk because she touched on something that I think we might be reluctantly carrying from last year. Grief.. I don’t know about you but 2019 sucked.
For two years prior I was jobless and lived off the savings and the divine provision of God while I recovered from severe ministry burnout. But in 2019 I was ready… I fasted, prayed, decreed, made a first vision board, and was chosen to lead a women’s ministry that I was passionate about…
Yet, in the wake of embracing a hope-filled season and focus I was jolted into an absurd reality — my father would not be able to celebrate the beauty of my long-awaited personal spring because at the end of January of last year, he passed away from a heart attack. Sadly, 2019 was the year where many people… and I’m guessing many people in this room tasted the bitter ashes of devastating loss.
Then facing another visceral truth; that grief is not sequential. It’s not a series of steps of overcoming but feels more like a succession of waves that hits your body and spirit so unexpectedly that you either ride them or get rolled underwater.
Naturally we attempt to masterfully navigate these waves. But, I don’t think God wants us ride out the mourning process. I think it’s deeper than that…
As I ponder over the image of waves I’m reminded that the size and intensity of waves are an effect of the sea floor’s surface. Where there are sudden “dips” near the shore occur, the more pronounced the waves. This explains why at some beaches you can walk in waist-high water for seemingly miles and not get swept up by a single wave. Resorts actually pay to resurface the shore line to create peaceful waters for their guests…
In Exodus we see God changing the topographical landscape of the Red Sea to deliver HIS people from years of bondage and position them to inherit the mythical Promised Land.
Later in Isaiah 4:32, we’re reminded that when we pass through the waters, He will be with us; and when we pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over us…
In a city of agendas and noise… I challenge you to audaciously step into the silence, lean into the uncomfortable liminal space and wait for his “still small voice… “ to wash over you… and refill the ridges of your soul’s shore… So that stepping into the newness of 2020 won’t crush you but call you deeper to the depths of Jesus’ love, so that we can authentically draw joy from the well of our salvation. Presenting ourselves as holy, living sacrifices…. Consumed by His fire… and radiate a glimpse of heaven to Jerusalem, Judah… New York… Jersey and to the ends of the earth.
*Transcript from a 5-minute talk for the Women’s Speaker Collective in NYC.
Other Scripture References:
“The LORD on high [is] mightier than the noise of many waters, [yea, than] the mighty waves of the sea.” — Psalms 93:4
“For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.” — Psalms 107:25
“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.” — Psalms 107:29
