Friday,
July 21, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2
Phrases such as troubles of any kind, and
opportunity for great joy hardly seem to mesh. Some words strung together take you by
surprise; they can be unnerving, and gnaw at your mind for days, weeks, or a
lifetime. You’re hearing it for the
first time, yet you’re amazed at how common the thought is to many other people. It’s something akin to that strange thing
that happens when you buy a new car and suddenly notice how many of the same
kind are now on the road; did you never notice, or is there a new virus making
people buy that brand?
The words that took me by storm were: an unbroken heart is sterile. Since reading that thought I’ve seen it in a
number of unrelated quotes…and a lot more quotes, courtesy of Google, most of which
were connected with the approaching darkening and disappearance of the mind…Alzheimer’s.[1] A disclaimer
about searching that topic…you will not have an unbroken heart when you’re
done. Your heart will be pulled apart at
the seams, and what leaks out will be every last shred of defense against a compassion-less
life; you’ll need to get involved!
My bride, Elizabeth, and I binge-watched the third
season of The Chosen this week.
It is the most powerfully-stirring presentation of the Gospel accounts I’ve
ever seen. It faithfully retells the events
of Jesus’ ministry, and the effect it had on those who experienced it
firsthand. More than just words on a
book’s page, you are drawn as a participant in the presence of the God-man,
Heaven come down to dwell among us.
In one of the episodes a man possessed by a demon[2] is healed by Jesus.
By definition, to be possessed by an evil spirit is to lose one’s mind,
and therefore any control over your actions, or even thought life. This pretty much describes the downward
spiral of Alzheimers…a slow-death by disappearance. In healing the man Jesus restores his memory,
his thoughts, and returns joy, the great joy Apostle James mentions. The demon was thought to be unconquerable;
that is, until it was introduced to He who has power over the darkness of evil
and death.
I have had some brush with the effects of the
disappearing mind. In 2007 my Mom and
Dad came to live with us. In the early
stages of dementia, Mom was still a sweet, quiet person. But she was troubled with very disturbing
dreams, and struggling at times to have even simple conversations. I did not fully realize or admit to myself
that we were losing her slowly, until one time she answered my knock at the
door with a puzzled look that confirmed she did not recognize me. She had known me for 60 years…and we were
starting to say “goodbye”.
James tells us that troubles of any kind are
opportunities of great joy. It’s hard to
frame that in any positive way to:
· those who
have had to repeat their names to family…often
· or those who
have no recollection, or explanation why they cannot see, or speak, or hear, or
breathe well…or who this one is sleeping next to her
· or those who
stand helpless on the sidelines watching their loved one suffering,
disappearing one forgotten word at a time
· or those who
have nowhere to sleep tonight, no food to eat this week
For You Today
There are about 2,600 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.
Title Image:
via Pixabay.com Images without citation are in
public domain. Unless noted, Scripture
quoted from NLT©
[1] See
a representative article: An
Unbroken Heart Is a Lifeless Thing: An Alzheimer Odyssey Nears Its End
[2] If
you have some time read Matthew’s
Gospel, chapters 4-17 which are filled with such healings
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