Things In Life That Make Us Sigh

There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he 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 7:32-35 (NIV) 

In the above verses something stood out that had never really struck me before. Jesus "sighed" before He healed the man. It got me to thinking, why did Jesus sigh? 

Recently I had a small incident that made me "sigh". I cleaned out my ear with a Q-Tip just as I have done for more than 40 years. But When I pulled the Q-Tip out of my ear I saw that most of the cotton was missing from the end of the Q-Tip. What I said to myself was: You have got to be kidding me. But I might as well have sighed as I thought about the stupid things that happen to us in life. My hearing was restored by a trip to an Urgent Care facility where my ear was irrigated and the cotton ball was removed from deep inside my ear. It gave me a very tiny taste of what that poor man experienced in a far worse way in the verses above. 

It is just speculation, but I think Jesus may have sighed at the absurdity of the things we endure and suffer through on this earth. Crazy things happen to us and the vicissitudes of life assault us in a multitude of ways that give us good reason to sigh. After Healing so many people with a variety of infirmities I think Jesus's sigh showed His humanity, and perhaps His frustration, regarding the many crazy things life throws at us. 

Whether our afflictions are small or large, temporary or long lasting, life causes us to sigh over its many irritations and difficulties. It makes us human, or perhaps reveals our humanity when we take the time, if even in a small way, to express our emotions regarding the unfairness and sometimes ridiculousness of life. 

Whatever life has thrown at you today ask the Lord to help you through it and to heal you of it. Ask Him to give you strength and the help you need to get through life's frustrations because He truly understands what we endure. 

Prayer:  Dear Lord, life causes us to sigh for many reasons. Help us through our frustrations and hardships, give us patience and strength to endure and overcome. Amen. 

Karlton Douglas 

Copyright 2017