Heaviness of heart is horrible. It may be brought on by bad news or unwanted bills. Sometimes it comes as a result of stress & strain. When we are weary or overwhelmed, we can feel like there is a weight in our souls.
Whatever the cause, it is a sinking sadness. It is as if a blanket is covering your heart making it hard to be happy. You are weighed down & despondent. When we are heavy hearted, we find ourselves thinking thoughts we would not otherwise consider…
“This is too much”; “I feel like giving up” or “I’ve had enough of all this.” In Psalm 119:28, King David said, “My soul melts from heaviness.” When we contend with any heart condition, it is good to know what the enemy wants to achieve.
The devil wants you to melt. He wants you to be weak and weary. Ultimately, he wants you to give up. Heaviness is therefore not only horrible, it is dangerous. So what do we do about it?
Heaven’s prescription
Isaiah 61:1-3 describes the ministry of Jesus. It also provides a list of human problems accompanied by heaven’s prescription. God gives us a divine medication for every malady. It is not “one size fits all”. Each problem we have has a tailor-made solution.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound… To comfort all who mourn… The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…”
The poor in spirit need to hear the gospel, that’s heaven prescription for non-Christians. The broken hearted need healing. They don’t need Liberty, they need healing. Those who are bound need liberty. That’s their prescription. They don’t need healing.
Those who are mourning need supernatural comfort. They don’t need freedom! Are you following me so far? Now let’s get to heaviness. Heaven’s divine prescription for that heavy-heartedness is not healing. It is not even prayer. It is praise!
It works
Recently, I was feeling horribly heavy. It had been an intense few weeks packed full of family challenges as well as a full ministry schedule. I was weary which opened the door for the spirit of heaviness and even thoughts of despondency.
I prayed and worshipped but nothing shifted. I even asked God to send someone to encourage me. I was fed up and (for a brief moment) felt like giving up. I cried out to God to help me.
Almost immediately, I was taken straight to Ismail 61 and I knew what I had to do. I did not feel like praising. The enemy makes sure that we don’t want to praise because he knows it will set us free.
Do it anyway!
Hebrews calls it the sacrifice of praise! We don’t praise because we feel like praising. We praise because it’s the right thing to do. We praise because He is worthy. And we praise because it is heaven’s prescription for heaviness!
I was out shopping when God told me to praise. I did not care who was watching, I just started to praise: “There is no-one like our God, I will praise Him, praise Him…” Within seconds, yes just a matter of seconds, the heaviness that had been hanging around for several days instantly lifted.
If you’re heavy-hearted, don’t delay. Start to praise and continue to praise until every last weight has lifted. I suggest you make it your lifestyle. Anytime the enemy tries to pull you down, push him away with joyful praise! The devil hates praise so he always flees.
Your journey
I want to invite you onto a journey. Everyone gets hurts in life but we often just carry on, often avoiding the people and places that betrayed or disappointed us. God doesn’t want you to hold any sadness. He wants to set you free. Get our books and come (and keep coming) to Healed for Life until you reach real security.
