Two Ways to Encourage Family Members with Heavy Hearts

Hearts are heavy, for these are weighty times. And the issues of today affect everyone in the home. 

Adults, parents, and grandparents have heavy hearts. 

Teenagers have heavy hearts. 

Even children can have heavy hearts. 

What affects them might be different. How they carry the weight might be different, but it seems that no one is immune to daily burdens. Even Jesus, in anguish, prayed earnestly (Luke 22:44), while Paul wrote of the anguish of his heart (2 Corinthians 2:4) and the great sorrow and unceasing anguish of his heart (Romans 9:2). 

So as you minister to your family and the burdens they carry, there are two things you can encourage them to do with their heavy hearts: 

ENCOURAGE YOUR FAMILY TO BRING THEIR BURDENS TO THE LORD

The Bible is filled with invitations for us to bring our burdens to the Lord, as well as promises that the Lord is able to answer these prayers. 

·      Matthew 11:28—Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

·      1 Peter 5:7—Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

·      James 5:13—Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

·      Psalm 55:22—Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

·      Psalm 147:3—He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

·      Psalm 34:17-18—When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

·      Philippians 4:6-7—Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

As you minister to your family, help them find ways to cast their cares upon the Lord. Create a space for the heavy heart to find rest. 

Family worship, filled with family prayer, brings this opportunity. 

For Family Worship this week, consider reading some of these passages with those in your home, and then invite them to share the burdens that are weighing on their hearts. Finally, lead in a time of prayer, seeking the rest and peace of Jesus, who is able to sustain, heal, and restore.  

ENCOURAGE YOUR FAMILY TO BRING THEIR BURDENS TO ONE ANOTHER

As the Bible calls the church to carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), we see an opportunity for us to bring our burdens to our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we humble ourselves and share our heavy hearts with others, we encounter the sweet blessings of their encouragement, ministry, and prayer. 

Opportunities to share our heavy hearts with others come primarily through Christian community in the church and through Family Worship in the home. 

In the local church, we find the Family of God ministering to one another. They pray for one another (James 5:16), confess their sins to one another (James 5:16), serve one another (Gal. 5:13), bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2), and build up one another (1 Thess. 5:11). It is the church family that is called to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). 

When we teach our families how to share their burdens with the church family, we can enjoy the blessings of these sweet one another’s in the church. 

In the home, families pray for one another and encourage one another during Family Worship. This is the space in which we can bring our burdens to those who know us best and love us unconditionally. 

Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter, viewed family worship as necessary in one’s ministry to a family member battling depression. He called family members to encourage the one who is depressed with the “great truths of the gospel that are likeliest to bring them comfort.”[1]

These great gospel truths continue to bring comfort today. As Paul wrote, it is through the encouragement of the Scriptures that we have hope (Romans 15:4). 

Encourage your family to share their heavy hearts around the dinner table. Allow Family Worship to include times of encouraging and praying for one another so that they may find comfort in the Lord. 

Jonathan Williams, Ph.D. (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries, the author of Gospel Family: Cultivating Family Discipleship, Family Worship, and Family Missions, and the senior pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, TX. He lives in Houston with his wife and three children.

[1] Michael S. Lundy, Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Baxter (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2018), 160.