Go Ahead And Sigh

In my quiet time, I stumbled upon something to which we can all relate.
You know what I mean.
That certain sigh we all do.
A quiet, subdued kind of sigh, but is it Biblical?

The people brought a deaf/mute man to Jesus so that he might be healed.
Jesus took him aside, away from the crowds.
He put His fingers in the man’s ears.
Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue.

He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, Ephphatha! (Which means, ‘be opened’). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7:31-37)

Jesus miraculously fed 4,000 men along with numerous women and children.
Jesus fed all those people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish.
The people ate and were satisfied.
Seven large baskets of broken pieces were left over.

The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test Him, they asked Him for a sign from heaven. He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth; no sign will be given to it.” Then He left them, got back in the boat and crossed to the other side. (Mark 8:11-13)

I pondered all of this to see if my sighs measured up to Jesus.
I sigh over trash not being put out or interruptions when I just sat down to read.
I sigh over grass clippings from the newly mowed lawn all over the kitchen floor.
Not exactly Kingdom concerns; not very worthy of a good old sigh.

Jesus sighed over sin.
Jesus sighed over broken-ness in this fallen world.
Jesus sighed over demands of proof as to who He really is.
These are Kingdom concerns worthy of a good sigh.

It tenders my heart to think that Jesus sighed.
I am in good company but not when I really looked at why Jesus sighed.
Jesus had reason to sigh.
Do I?

Jesus’ sigh was a “holy sigh” because He sighed as only God could.
Jesus grieved the fallen-ness of this world.
My sigh, by contrast, is a self centered kind of sigh.
Jesus understands it, but could I really put my sigh up against His?

What amazes me is that Jesus does not measure the importance of my sighs.
I am the one holding the measuring tape.
All of our sighs are important to Him.
Our sighs are important to Him because we are important to Him.

It is comforting to know that my sigh is heard.
Often, when we are too weary to pray, our sigh becomes a prayer.
In fact, it is probably the kind of prayer our Heavenly Father likes best of all.
There is no pretense in that kind of sigh.

It is raw and helpless.
It is the, I don’t even have words for you, Lord, kind of sigh.
Since God made us, He knows our hearts.
W e cannot hide anything from Him.

God knows our weariness.
God knows our fears.
God knows our hurts.
Jesus sighs along with us, until the day He will make everything new.

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. (Psalms 5:1-3)

God considers our sighing.
We are heard even when we do not say any words at all.
We are heard even when we can only breathe a weary sigh.
Our quietest sigh is clearly audible to Him.

God hears.
God answers.
God understands.
That Truth should cause us to sigh a holy sigh of praise to our God.

______________________________________________________________

The preceding paragraphs were originally published on June 28, 2012.
I happened to think about this when I found myself sighing this morning.
I smiled because one of my daughters always asks me if I’m alright whenever I sigh.
Just like a good stretch feels so wonderful to our body, so does a good, deep sigh.

A sigh is cleansing.
A sigh releases whatever it is that is bottled up inside us.
We may not even be able to pinpoint what is causing us to sigh.
A sigh comes from deep within us.

The reasons we sigh may vary.
Annoyance, frustration, tiredness, and weariness all add up after a while.
Jesus understands.
Jesus sighed as well.

We sigh when things do not go our way or when we feel spent and exhausted.
Jesus sighed when things did not go His Father’s way.
Jesus’s sighs were never about Him.
Jesus’s sighs were always about the fallen-ness and brokenness of this world.

Today is Election Day.
I have spent much of this election cycle sighing.
The sighs I have been sighing are Kingdom sighs.
The sighs I have been sighing are weariness over sin.

Sin in me.
Sin in others.
Sin in situations.
Sin until Jesus comes again.

We sigh and offer up our sigh as a prayer.
We sigh and come before God our Father in helplessness.
We sigh because we know that we cannot fix any of the problems on our own.
We sigh in full submission to the Lordship of Christ over all things.

Go ahead and sigh.
A good long holy sigh.
A sigh over this sin stained world.
A sigh over our helplessness before Him.

That is the kind of sigh God longs to hear.
That is the kind of sigh that relinquishes all control.
That is the kind of sigh that trusts the sovereignty of God.
That is the kind of sigh that Jesus sighed.

Sigh a holy sigh as a beautiful prayer to the Father.
He is listening.
He understands.
He hears.