THE GROAN - 4 JANUARY 2012
The picture you see above is where we recently had a men's retreat, which was led by Jim Branch. In referencing Mark 7:31-35 Jim referred to what he called the "groan," which I took to mean as the point in our lives where we've seemingly experienced the hard realities of life's pain at such a deep level all we can do is groan and cry out to God. And the groan Jim was speaking of was when Jesus sighed in Mark 7:34 while healing the deaf man with a speech impediment.
Jim said that the same Greek word for sigh was the same word for groan as referenced in Romans 8:22-23 when Paul was speaking about the pains of childbirth. So imagining Jesus holding the deaf man's face while sighing, at first, may not seem so significant, but as I put myself in the deaf man's shoes it is extremely comforting to know that Jesus felt his pain. It's as if Jesus was holding the deaf man's face looking directly into his eyes and his sigh was conveying to the deaf man, "You were not meant for this and I know the pain you must feel. I am here to set you free and give you life."
Though many of us may not be deaf or have a speech impediment, we all have a deep need to experience the healing touch of Jesus. What is the place in your life where Jesus needs to come and heal? And what are those places that need healing that cause you to inwardly or outwardly groan for something more? If your like me, you are far too familiar with this groan; the groan that is exhausted, the groan that says "I've had enough", the groan that longs for healing, the groan that wants to know God more deeply, or the groan that simply wants to be more content.
The reality is that both your groan and mine will continue as long as we live on this earth. But what an encouragement it is to know that Jesus is not so far removed from our groans; that he can relate and identify with our pain. He, in fact, is in our face just as he was with the deaf man groaning with and for us. So be encouraged as you experience your next deep groan and know that Jesus is groaning with you. Thank you Jim for making me more aware of my groans and showing me Jesus' desire to be right by my side.
-Russell Courtney
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Reply #1 on : Wed January 04, 2012, 08:26:09