By Lisa Wilmore
My Dear Friends,
Praise be to God for another day and another message in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our Everlasting, Eternal, and Endless Savior. There are times in our lives when we need a friend. So, I thank God for you and for your friendship through this platform that God has given us to connect with one another through this writing and listening ministry.
During the tenure of my life, I have learned that the “best” friends are those who open their hearts and truly listen when words need to be spoken which is similar to what Jesus does for us on a constant basis.
Although this is not what was purposed in my heart for this week’s message, I am compelled to share with you what one may call an “emotional message.” This message stems from receiving a call that my nephew had passed away, which led my mind to meander through the times of his childhood into his adulthood. For some reason, I could not release the image of him as the little boy I encountered some forty (40) years ago when I met my husband and his family.
Interestingly, in my mind, there was a mechanism of strength I needed to tap into to be strong for the family. Yet I also found myself carrying grief that I did not feel I had permission to fully express. So, I held on, trying to be strong, until I was reminded by someone close to the family who witnessed my actions and later shared a text message that altered the trajectory of my thoughts. What she wrote awakened something in me that I had not fully embraced in my entire adult life. She said, “You don’t have to always be strong…” Of course, I pondered the statement in my mind and heart and what came from it was, “Let Jesus be the strongest One in the room.”
In experiencing grief, emotional weight, and the pressure to be strong for others, I reached a point where my own strength was no longer enough, and it was in that very place that the scripture, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7, KJV), became personal to me and took on a deeper meaning in my heart. God knows we will have burdens, but He has instructed us to cast them upon Him.
As the Word of God reminds us that we do not have to carry everything alone, and we do not have to rush our healing or hide our grief. We can lean and depend on Jesus, knowing that even in our weakest moments, His strength is present and sufficient. We do not have to be the strongest in the room; “Let Jesus Be the Strongest One in the Room.” Jesus Saves!
