Heart Monitor by Jeff Beman

Psalm 34:18 "18 The Lord is near to the broken hearted, and saves the crushed spirit."

Matthew 5:4 "4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

A friend once told me this story:
“There was an old man reflecting on the many events of his life. This man had experienced many different life events, both wonderfully happy and tearfully sad. He told his friend how he wished that God would have smoothed out the highs and the lows, so that he wouldn’t have had such sad times in his lifetime.

His friend, who happened to be a surgeon, explained to him that it was the highs and the lows together that defined living. He said that like a heart monitor in the hospital, the high peaks and the low peaks are the “boundaries” and we live our lives in between them. If the peaks and valleys smooth out, we end up with a flat line, and life is over.”

At certain times in my life, I have asked God to take away heartache or sometimes physical issues to make my life easier. None of us enjoy going through the rough parts of life, and we are quick to wish that away. It’s hard to thank God for rough times. But I have learned that praising and thanking God for both happy and sad times helps me to put them in their proper perspective. The Bible tells us that those who mourn are blessed, and the lord is near to us when we are broken hearted.

Father God – Thank you for providing us your blessings when we are sad and mourning. Thank you for your grace and lovingkindness when we are happy, too. Thank you most of all for the gift of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. AMEN