Beyond the Weekend

September 20 | Expressing Sadness

September 20, 2022

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. Psalms 31:9

Read: Psalms 31:9–10
Listen: 
Psalms 31

TODAY’S MESSAGE

It’s easy to be silent about sadness. Yet, the writer of Psalms isn’t silent. David writes about the weariness of his eyes and the weakness in his body. Sadness isn’t only in his heart but felt throughout his whole being. He expresses his sadness to God in rich language. David chooses the medium of poetry/song. He expresses his sadness to not only God but those around him. In many ways, it’s a public expression of sadness.

It can be difficult for many of us to express our sadness. Maybe we’ve been told to “suck it up and move on.” Unfortunately, we often do that by turning to something that numbs the pain away. We fill our schedule so full that we don’t have any downtime to think about what’s going on. We binge-watch hours of Netflix, so our mind never has a moment off. We drink to take the edge off and ease the sadness. We eat away the pain. We spend hours playing Xbox or PlayStation, so we don’t have to confront what we are feeling. The problem with numbing the sadness is not only that we aren’t dealing with it—but we usually numb away everything else too. We numb ourselves to the moments of joy or happiness as they come along.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Take out your journal or open your notes app on your phone. Begin to express your sadness to God. Follow David’s lead and write about how it is affecting you. Think about how you may be numbing the sadness instead of letting yourself work through it. Ask God to reveal himself to you in your time of sadness. Consider following David’s lead and sharing your sadness with those around you, like someone from your small group. If you aren’t in a small group, now is a great time to join one. Find out more at adabible.org/smallgroups.


2022 BIBLE MEMORY PRACTICE

Develop spiritual roots and tap in the power of God’s word by memorizing monthly a Bible verse! View previous verses at beyondtheweekend.org/biblememorypractice.

JAMES 1:19–20
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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