Cheering Up a Heavy Heart Prov. 12:25 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Cheering up a heavy heart.  You can tell when a man is heavy hearted – his countenance is sad, his shoulders droop, his step is heavy, his posture will even stoop.  When a man is in that case nothing goes right it seems – he’s down and everything around him looks down too [perception] – if he’s sick when he’s down it’s going to take him longer to recover, too.

Just look at these stooped hearts and consider what caused them to stoop

Esau – Heb 12:16-17 – rejection – that’s a big one – you failed and you were rejected and there is nothing you can do about it now – that’s a heavy burden.

David – 2 Sam 12: 15-17 – regret – his child is dying and the reason is the consequence of his sin – how many Christians have called in agony because they believe some sin in their lives is the cause of their current suffering.

Ahab – 1 Ki 21:5-6 – unfulfilled expectations – Naboth wouldn’t give him the vineyard – couldn’t get his way and it made him sad – unfulfilled expectations is at the root of a lot of marital trouble and business trouble – Hannah felt this way when she had no child in 1 Sam.

Naomi – Ruth 1:20-21 – death and loss – Naomi lost her husband, sons-in-law and possessions.

Elijah – 1 Ki 19:4 – fear and depression – these two will put you down so far that all you can think about is the end of your life.

You get the picture.

Now what’s going to lift that downtrodden spirit is a good word – and the best place to find that is in the Bible [Psalms and Proverbs] – I have often found that a man can say just the right thing to another man to lift him and encourage him – no need to tear into him because he is already down enough as it is – no need to kick him when he is down and then run to him later [because now you are feeling bad] and act like you are the first one to help him back up again – go to the Book and go to friends who know just the right things to say – They’ll bring:

Prov 12:25 – gladness – I went through some tough times and a couple of friends encouraged me along the way and when I got to the other side and looked back I was glad to have gone through the bitter experience [Rom 8:28] – say “this is good for me so why should I be down” – being down has never accomplished anything to remedy the problem [not even pity]

Prov 15:13 – cheerful countenance – you know there are a lot of people going through things but some go through with a cheerful countenance and it is refreshing – Paul and Silas in jail encouraged by song and prayer, Acts 16 – I remember a daughter’s cheerful countenance during her mother’s hospital demise.

Prov 15:23 – joy – you can actually cheer somebody up in difficult times and they will have joy when others would despair – Macedonia, 2 Cor 8:1-4 – I remember a fellow dying in Beeville with joy – he knew he was nearer to seeing the Lord.

Prov 17:22 – health – a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, Prov 18:14 – I had a couple of old friends who lived many years in compromised health and they got through because of their merry hearts!