Psalm 130:1-5
From a sea of troubles I call out to you, LORD. Won't you please listen as I beg for mercy? If you kept record of our sins, no one could last long. But you forgive us, and so we will worship you. With all my heart, I am waiting, LORD, for you! I trust your promises.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
Recently I watched a program called “Our America with Lisa Ling” about veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome – PTSD for short. These men and women harbor troubling – even horrific – images and memories of their wartime experiences. One man had been building up anger, rage and frustration for eight years… and taking aim at his wife and children with the emotions that overflowed. Yet he could not express himself… he could not explain what was causing him to be such an ogre. His wife was at a crossroads… should she and the children stay and be subjected to this rage - or should they leave?
The couple spent a week at a retreat in Angel Fire, New Mexico, where therapists specialize in helping veterans with PTSD. Ultimately, this man was able to express his emotions. He had served as a medic in Iraq. When the fighting ended, the civilians began to come to the medics for treatment. They were badly burned, maimed, missing limbs, and more. This man said he did all he could to treat as many as possible. But at the end of the day, many returned home untreated. There was nothing he could do for them. He said he could still see their faces… the emptiness in their eyes… their hopelessness. He said he knew that many of the children he was unable to help went home to die. And he felt guilty.
It took a lot of intensive work to get this man to release his burdens, but he was able to do it… to forgive himself and realize that he did all he could. As one therapist told him, “It’s not on you.” The veteran was able to understand this and acknowledge it… to forgive himself, and to apologize to his wife and family. He was able to accept – and love – himself again… which enabled him to love others.
So many of us are suffering from Spiritual PTSD. We are carrying burdens and sins that Jesus has already forgiven. We should let go of them… but we continue to keep a record, long after Jesus has scattered them to the four winds with His blood on the cross. If we are truly committed to Christ… if we really have invited Him to be LORD of our life and asked His Holy Spirit to dwell within us… we must express our sins and burdens to Him – then let them go. We must love and accept ourselves as Jesus does… so that we can love others in His name.
I don’t know what your “sea of troubles” is today. I don’t know what burdens are weighing you down – what sins you keep picking back up and carrying like a sack of rocks. But I do know that Jesus is waiting to relieve you of all of this. It will take a huge leap of faith on your part – and mine. It’s daunting to truly “let go and let God,” because we have gotten so used to carrying this baggage with us. Even uncomfortable/unpleasant things can become part of our “Comfort Zone,” because they are so familiar.
Today can be the first day for a new Comfort Zone in your life… one where Jesus rules and carries the big stuff, so that you are free to serve Him completely. You can love yourself and others… and do big things in His name. Worship the LORD who carries our “sea of troubles” – and scatters them. Shred the “record books” of your sins and burdens, and operate in faith and the promises of our forgiving and merciful Father.
©2011 Debbie Robus
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