Three of Swords
"The sorrows of those will increase who run after false gods," according to Psalm 16, which later speaks of our greatest pleasure and joy. Sometimes our own obsessions, addictions, and inordinate desires lead us to a much needed heartbreak--a message to slow down or release.
Yet the conscience should sting and the heart should be grieved in seasons of sadness. There is a time to rejoice and a time to grieve.
One-third of the Psalms are laments, so we know even David sang the blues. Jonah was three days in the belly of the whale where he finally got the message and also responded in song.
The angel told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart, too, that her child would be the sign of many falling and rising in Israel.
Even Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus and had sorrow over Jerusalem, longing to gather lost ones under his wings, those who were scattered as sheep without a shepherd.
At the cross, he carried our sorrows and shared our grief.
He promises one day to wipe away every tear and comfort all who mourn.
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