A few weeks ago I sat at my computer keyboard; it was time to write fridayswithwillis.com. I found myself stymied. I couldn’t write; It was not the stereotypic “Writer’s Block.” I wrote the following paragraph;
Today I am in deep conversation with God; my prayer is for a friend facing a crisis tomorrow; having suffered a gross injustice for years, the day bodes fearful. Those years cannot be regained. My heart is heavy right now and I may need to take a break from this Blog; I will turn to the reassuring words of the Psalmist; “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 NKJV. I will return to this keyboard soon, but for now, I will pray—and also ask a couple of friends to “pray for my young friend.”
Anyhow, that day I did call on a couple of my intimate friends who know both how to hold confidence and to enter into substantial prayer. (They did promise to pray). I asked them, knowing that answers to prayer; 1) do not always come quickly, and 2) do not always produce expected results, and 3) can be “No,” or “Not yet.” But as The psalmist said, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
I am happy to report that joy did show up. Answers to prayer may be simply an open window, as is this one. We do not know what the future holds, but we do ….”know who holds the future.” I am immensely grateful for my faithful pray-ers who kept their promise. We keep in touch. They know how things are so far. More important is the reality that true friendship showed up. On time. In good measure.
That Cimmerian state no longer lingers, and I can now bring hope to that story. The genesis of my friend’s circumstances did have a germ of wrong-headedness; it became a convoluted, pathway—no, there was no pathway; what developed was a labyrinth of both accidental interruption and, as Hamlet said, plagued by “The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” By the time I discovered the morass, it had become swallowed by administrative indifference, entangled in an overloaded, archaic system. There was nothing I, personally, could do but pray and hope.
This story may be either a compass, or reassurance for your own journey. When you have a heavy heart, go to your trusted friend. Cast off your pride. Pour out your heart. Be willing to say, “Please help. Prayer is needed here.” Jesus taught this way for guidance and help. Be assured that no matter how discouraged you may be, trusted friends are the ones who will be powerful support, keeping you from becoming discouraged.
The Apostle Paul probably had as much (or more) reason to become discouraged as anyone. With great confidence he called on those close to him. He was not weighed down with disappointment or, sadness—for he knew from hard experience, “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” (Emphasis added); ©Copyright, Wills H. Moore 2022