September 5
Danger in the Home
For reading & meditation - Matthew 11:25-30
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me ... and you will find rest ..." (v. 29)
Another area of life where many are broken is through troubles in the home. "Life " as Hemingway put it, "breaks us all " but perhaps nothing is quite as painful as being broken by difficulties in one's home. Have you been broken by problems within your family circle? Then take heart - out of the brokenness God can bring strength. What kind of troubles bring us to a breaking point in the home? These are just some of them: incompatibility, disagreements, separation, threats or the action of divorce, insensitivity, bickering, quarrels, misunderstandings and violence, not to mention such things as alcoholism, drug abuse, mental and emotional breakdowns, child and adolescent rebellion, or gross neglect of the aged members of the family. Even in some Christian homes, things can get pretty desperate. A study completed at the University of Rhode Island described the American home as the most dangerous place to be - apart from a war or a riot. It's also getting like this in Britain. All of us have experienced some hurt through broken relationships in the home. Many, out of loyalty to their families, face the world with a smile, but inwardly they are bleeding. I know a woman who was heartbroken by her husband?s adultery and the rebellion of her children, but today she has recovered and is busy staunching the bleeding wounds in other people's hearts. So it can be done. To those of you broken by troubles in the home, our Lord says, "Learn from Me: I will make you so strong at the broken places of your life that you shall minister to others out of that hidden strength."
Prayer: O God, You know how easy it is to blunder in this delicate and difficult business of relationships. I needsomeone to lead me in the right way. You lead me, Father - I will follow. Amen.
For Further StudyPsalms 46; Psalms 147:3; Luke 4:18; Matthew 12:20
1. What did God say to the psalmist in the midst of upheaval?
2. What does God promise the brokenhearted?
