Had a revelation today
no one can make
somebody choose your love
and the truth it's got me cryin' in my soup
Sent some meditation your way
sharing my woes
nobody knows but you
all of these broken pieces in my soup
So I lay my cares down
You can have them all
And I lay my head down
Resting in your arms
You can love much deeper
than all my heart's lament
Found the inspiration I need
You are my song
and I belong to You
All of my hopes are floating in Your soup
©Cindy Palin
Jesus never ceases to amaze me. He is always with me, and His Spirit ministers comfort and reveals truth (John 14:6). Truth is a good place to start, especially when we are grieving and lamenting.
When it was time for Jesus to ascend he told his disciples the Holy Spirit would come and bring comfort and reveal truth (John 14:26). So many times we focus on the comfort aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit and forget the truth portion. We need His comfort in this broken world, but His truth is equally as important.
When I was grieving the reality (truth), I could not make my earthly Father see the many life benefits of my Heavenly Father, I wrote "My Heart's Lament." This revelation made me incredibly sad. "Crying in my soup" painted a picture of my despair. "Broken pieces" represented my earthly father's mistakes and my own. I had received a way to freedom and joy through Christ's work on the cross (2nd Cor. 5:21), however this incredible gift of salvation was not mine to give. People need to want to receive it through Jesus.
"Sent some meditation your way"
When we're met with the deepest of loss and grief, prayer is the next best step. My Grandmother had taught me to pray and thus my downcast spirit turned immediately to my heavenly Father. This action is represented in "crying in our soup," Lamenting is a process of moaning to the Father and is present in the Psalms of lament. Because the Father is the focus, these laments are considered prayer.
The chorus of a song is always meant to be like the climax in a story. Here is where the ultimate dilemma or solution breaks through. Waiting on God, crying out to Him, wailing and weeping brings us next to trust and submission. This doesn't mean there is an immediate solution to our pain, but if we lay it down we can continue to move forward.
You can't move forward very easily while dragging a pool of tears behind you. But if you leave them with Jesus you are saying that you trust Him.
"Lay your cares down"
This is easier said than done. This year in 2023, I am met with new despair, and a new opportunity to practice trust. This trust is a decision I make everyday. I must continually lay my pain down at His feet, or place it in his hands. But I like the picture of laying my burdens down so I can "rest in His arms" (Matt. 11:28). And there in His arms we see the truth like never before. He loves much deeper. He feels our despair much deeper. He went to the cross to feel that despair, and won over it.
"Found the inspiration I need"
This is where faith is so mysterious. I didn't find Jesus, He found me. He called my name from the beginning of time (2 Tim 1:9). He saves us, He shapes us and He gives us the ability to care about other people. It was Jesus who gave me the love for my imperfect earthly Father, and it is Jesus who helped me let go when my earthly father died. I didn't continue to worry where he might be after his death. I had peace that my father was given many chances to reach for freedom. I had peace that my Jesus would have reached out for him many times. I had peace that other people's choices are made and I can't do anything about it, but I can decide how I am going to live. And I am not alone.
"I belong to you"
I remember who I belong to, and when my spirit remembers this my grief becomes
hope, no longer drowning in a pit of despair (soup), but floating in Jesus' soup, and His soup isn't a stagnant bowl of broken crackers, but a fresh running river of life (Psalm 46).
Feel free to look up other scripture that comes to mind as the Holy Spirit ministers to you - Cindy Palin