Rehearse Your Troubles to God Only
The sermon emphasizes the importance of rehearsing troubles to God only, seeking His power to forgive and heal through love covering.
Charles E. Cowman preaches on the transformative power of love that covers all things, urging believers to earnestly pursue this love as described in 1 Corinthians 13:7-13. He shares a personal testimony of a sleepless night filled with injustice and the struggle to obey God's command to love and cover offenses, leading to a powerful experience of healing and forgetfulness through surrendering to God. Through the imagery of burying past hurts and wounds, he illustrates the beauty and restoration that comes from allowing God's love to heal and transform our hearts.
Text
"Love covereth" (Prov. 10:12). "Be eager in pursuit of this love" (1 Cor. 13:7-13, Weymouth).
Rehearse your troubles to God only. Not long ago I read in a paper a bit of personal experience from a precious child of God, and it made such an impression upon me that I record it here. She wrote:
"I found myself one midnight wholly sleepless as the surges of a cruel injustice swept over me, and the love which covers seemed to have crept out of my heart. Then I cried to God in an agony for the power to obey His injunction, 'Love covereth.'
"Immediately the Spirit began to work in me the power that brought about the forgetfulness.
"Mentally I dug a grave. Deliberately I threw up the earth until the excavation was deep.
"Sorrowfully I lowered into it the thing which wounded me. Quickly I shoveled in the clods.
"Over the mound I carefully laid the green sods. Then I covered it with white roses and forget-me-nots, and quickly walked away.
"Sweet sleep came. The wound which had been so nearly deadly was healed without a scar, and I know not today what caused my grief."
"There was a scar on yonder mountain-side,
Gashed out where once the cruel storm had trod;
A barren, desolate chasm, reaching wide,
Across the soft green sod.
"But years crept by beneath the purple pines,
And veiled the scar with grass and moss once more,
And left it fairer now with flowers and vines
Than it had been before.
"There was a wound once in a gentle heart,
Whence all life's sweetness seemed to ebb and die;
And love's confiding changed to bitter smart,
While slow, sad years went by.
"Yet as they passed, unseen an angel stole
And laid a balm of healing on the pain,
Till love grew purer in the heart made whole,
And peace came back again."
Sermon Outline
- Rehearse Your Troubles to God Only
- A Personal Experience of Healing
- A Poetic Illustration of Healing
- The Importance of Love Covering
- The Power of Prayer in Healing
- The Scar of Unforgiveness
- The Healing Process
- The Result of Healing
Key Quotes
“Immediately the Spirit began to work in me the power that brought about the forgetfulness.” — Charles E. Cowman
“There was a wound once in a gentle heart, whence all life's sweetness seemed to ebb and die;” — Charles E. Cowman
“Yet as they passed, unseen an angel stole and laid a balm of healing on the pain,” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- Choose to forgive and forget your troubles, just as God forgives and forgets our sins.
- Seek the power of the Holy Spirit to heal and bring wholeness to your life.
- Pray to God to help you obey His injunction to love and forgive, leading to healing and peace.