WOUNDED HEART

John 16:22-33
22 Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that
day you will no longer ask Me anything. I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. . . . 29 Then Jesus' disciples said, "Now You are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that You know all things and that You do not even need to have anyone ask You questions. This makes us believe that You came from God." 31 "You believe at last!" Jesus answered. 32 "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for My Father is with Me. 33 I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

The sun was setting behind the hill. At the summit, a weathered fence defined the long, mass grave that contains the bodies of the Lakota people massacred at Wounded Knee.

At the bottom of the butte, my missions team and I stood and listened to the words of a woman named Cecilia Spotted Bear. We learned that more than 150 men, women, and children were slaughtered on that awful day in 1890. But then she told another story. From tragedy she moved to hope and redemption. It was her story.

Cecilia Spotted Bear grew up on the Pine Ridge reservation. Her early years were filled with alcohol and apathy. She wed
and continued in her ways--even giving booze to her children. She made money for her family by bootlegging--selling
illegally made liquor. Her life was a blur of unhappiness and drunkenness.

Then she began to read a Bible. The words spoke to the deepest pains in her heart. In time she prayed and received Jesus as her Savior. Cecilia's life changed dramatically. Her husband and children soon saw the difference. While she became an outcast to her people, having turned away from their religion, she became a beacon of light to the few believers on the reservation.

Her whole family eventually gave their lives to Jesus. In the years that followed, Cecilia helped start a church and saw many of the Lakota people come to belief in her Lord.

She told us, however, that her life has not been easy. There have been waves of persecution that have threatened to
knock her down. She has experienced the pain of loved ones straying from their faith and the loss of some to death.

But through it all, she explained, "My blessed Savior has been merciful." Cecilia has joy in her heart, for she has grasped
the meaning of these words: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Cecilia no longer has a wounded heart. Jesus has filled it with His mercy and peace. --Tom Felten

DESTINATION POINTS

* What is my story of faith in Jesus?
* How am I experiencing "trouble" in this world?
* Jesus has "overcome the world." What does that mean to me?

LINKS:
Today In History--Wounded Knee Massacre
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/dec29.html

bottom line: Jesus' mercy is greater than my troubles.

soul journey