You dwell in a tired sigh

you dwell in a tired sigh

After the last few weeks, I could think that line really was about me.
And haven't we all been there?
Maybe even there right now?

I first wrote this in December, 2011.  Below, it says that Hachiko is recovered now.  It's probably not a coincidence that I'm discovering this one to update right now - October, 2017.  I am dwelling in a tired sigh - because Hachiko is no longer wit7h us.  We had to put him down last week.  You can read more at Another Sad Day. And Yet, ... - which will give you a clue that while I'm tired - there's more to the story and it's not all sad. 

Anyway - as I read through this, I can see where I've come over the last six years.  So while the title is still about a tired sigh,  it's also about progress and even more hope than the original writing.  I pray you will find it encouraging.

As I make the updates, they'll be in text like this, so you can tell what's new.

Between Hachiko running off / getting hurt / (he's back and recovered now),
and with a huge oak tree snapping off and just missing the house in a storm,
and with all sorts of stuff at work,
there's room for plenty of tired sighs.
And in my case, things are nowhere near as bad as what many of you reading this are going through.
With that in mind - let's add another line to this -

you dwell in a hopeless cry,
you dwell in a tired sigh

Is that more like it?
Does that describe your situation even better -
with that hopeless cry?

The question is then -
who is in that hopeless cry / tired sigh with you?

Maybe you think Satan is in there with you.
Maybe you think God is in there with you.
Maybe you think no one's there - you're all alone.

Depending on you - any one of these could be true - in a sense.

If you think you're all alone - for all practical purposes - you are.
God won't force Himself on you.  Yes - He'll be running after you - waiting for you to invite Him in - but He's allowing each of us to make the choice to follow Him - or not.

Mt 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Rev 3:19 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Jesus said He's knocking at out door, waiting for us to answer.
Jesus also said He's waiting for us to knock on the door, and He'll answer it.

So - if you think you're alone - realize that you don't have to be.
Jesus is right there - knocking - waiting.
Just invite Him into the situation.

On the other hand - maybe you think Satan's there with you.
Guess what - you're right!
And he'll be trying to tell you that it's just him and you - and that it really is as hopeless and tiring as it looks - that's there's no way out - that the only thing is to sigh - to cry out in hopelessness - resign yourself - and just give up.
The thing is though - Satan is lying.

The quote below is from When the enemy strikes: The keys to winning your spiritual battles, by Charles F. Stanley -

Deception is a lie about the true reality of something. Deception occurs when we believe things are good, but they aren’t; when we believe things look hopeless, but they aren’t; when we think something is true, but it isn’t; when something looks too good to be true and turns out not to be good at all. Deception is perhaps the devil’s foremost snare. The ultimate eternal demise of the devil is described in Revelation with these words: “The great dragon was cast out [of heaven], that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (12:9).  ¹Stanley, C. F. (2004). When the enemy strikes: the keys to winning your spiritual battles. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

The key phrase here -

when we believe things look hopeless, but they aren’t

Even Jesus went through temptation from Satan - after 40 days and nights of fasting -

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1-11 pp — Mk 1:12, 13; Lk 4:1-13