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Bible Readings: Hebrews 13:11-16; Psalm 116:1-7

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “Lord, save me!”

 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.    Psalm 116:1-7

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.  And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.    Hebrews 13:15-6

 

Have you ever been thrust awake from a bad dream – sweating, heart racing – now suddenly realizing that you are actually safe in your bed and all is ok.  This is how a portion Psalm 116 reads to me:

The cords of death entangled me,…I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:“Lord, save me!”

[NOW AWAKE!] 

“the Lord is gracious and righteous….  Return to rest, my soul,…”

 

For many people, life too often feels like a bad dream with no end in sight.  For each person, whatever they are facing is very real and can feel isolating, as if they are the only one going through this – locked inside a nightmare. 

I don’t think it would be too far to imagine that Jesus at times felt overwhelmed by the “cross” that he would bear, the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders.  In fact we are told that he openly shared his feelings with a few of his disciples – “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34).  If anyone understands our “nightmare” it is Jesus.  But Jesus faced death on our behalf and rose to life and victory.  The bad dream is no more – AWAKE! 

Even when you face your darkest nightmare, you can know that Jesus has been there and is there with you.  He will bring you through – even death does not have the final say.  And so with the Hebrews writer we declare “Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise…” (Hebrews 13:15)