Years ago, I read several of Max Lucado’s books. He writes short devotionals in chapter form and I always liked his style of writing. One of the meditations in the book God Came Near, has stayed with me ever since I read it 30+ years ago, (which doesn’t happen much for me these days…remembering themes or plots of books or stories, plays or movies that is).
The chapter “When God Sighed’ in his book God Came Near, talks about a surprisingly, small word tucked into the passage where Jesus is ready to heal a deaf man, in Mark 7: 31-37. After putting his fingers in the man’s ears, Jesus looks up to heaven and sighs before he does any healing. Max goes on to say “I never thought of God as one who sighs. I’ve thought of God as one who commands…weeps…calls forth the dead…created the universe, but not one who sighs.”
Max surmises, we all do our own share of sighing. “All these sighs come from the same anxiety; a recognition of pain that was never intended, or of hope deferred.” Wars, sickness, poverty, broken relationships, our own life troubles, all these situations cause us to sigh.
“Man was not intended to be separated from his creator; hence he sighs, longing for home. The creation was never intended to be inhabited by evil; hence she sighs, longing for the garden. And conversations with God were never intended to depend on a translator; hence the Spirit groans on our behalf, looking to a day when humans will see God face to face.”
This idea of sighing was implanted in my heart years ago, and I think of it often. Many times, when I sigh, especially a deep sigh, I remember this may not be the way the God intended our/my world to be. And God sighs too.
So, Max concludes, he hangs this word “sigh” alongside the word comfort. He finds comfort in sighing and remembers, “The holy sigh assures us that God still groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be will be.”
May we, too, find comfort in our sighing.
All quotes are from Max Lucado’s book God Came Near (1987) pp.63-66.
Val,
I enjoy all your posts so very much but this one has touched my heart uniquely and deeply. I’m so thankful you were led to share this longing of all humankind in such an eloquent manner. The hope that we will be “home” with the One who loves us fully and unconditionally one day is truly a comfort and lends amazing perspective to each moment. (I also was a Max Lucado fan way back when.)
God has to be sighing a lot during this time of so much divisiveness and cruel wars in our world today. The joy of this blog is when you talk about the comfort we will have when meeting our God in Heaven. Thanks for sharing this talented writer’s insights into this subject.
I agree Shirley…and I’m thankful for the hope we have in God, and the joy to come.
I’m glad this touched your heart, as it has mine so very many times over the years.
I love the way you expressed our hope in your comments. Thank you, Sue.
Valerie, thank you for sharing this insight. I will never view the word “sigh” in the same way. I love this God connection and now having an awareness that Jesus sighed too.
This devotional changed the way I viewed the word “sigh” so long ago.
I have truly found comfort in the word many times over the years.