God Sees Your Pain

Good Morning and happy Sunday!!! I am currently sitting outside, enjoying fresh air... muggy as it might be. The simple pleasures of experiencing a bird's chirp or watching an ant crawl in the grass are privileges that we so often take for granted. It's not until you are unable to do those things, hear those things, taste those things or experience those things that we begin to long for them. I've had a true mental turn around regarding my appreciation for the "for granted". The start of this week held some scary experiences for me and my family. Without going into too much detail, I basically found myself in the hospital for a couple nights, hooked up to machines, being tested and poked and prodded and drugged. Friends and family sent me love and prayers, which were great comforts, but inspite of their love, I was afraid... And in pain. There were even moments when all I could do was quietly ask God, "why, Lord"? I felt so alone.

Laying in that hospital bed with an IV in my arm for the first time in my life, loopy from pills and a head full of worry concerning my little one who is still growing inside of me, I began to distract myself from that present situation by praising the Lord through my pain. To be honest, I didn't want to. All I wanted was relief, but I remember, from one of our past studies, learning how our weaknesses become evident so that God's presence can be magnified. Over and over again, we see in scripture how brave men and women, including our Lord Jesus, found their times of testing and pain as opportunities to call out to God as their source, their healing and their refuge. So many times, we allow our circumstances to dictate how we respond, but praise is not only meant for rejoicing, it's also pertinent in sorrow as well.

King David paints a picture of Gods heart for us during hard times:
"When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul"- Psalm 94:19

Paul reminds us in scripture to stay consistent in prayer and joy, no matter the circumstances:
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"- Romans 12:12

In 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses God's love for us through our pain:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves have received from God"- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

There are many more scriptures on how we ought to respond to God in our pain, but in particular, I have been encouraged by the way God responds to us in our pain. He is not a far off distant being who is too concerned with spinning planets than to involve Himself with you. He loves you! He cares especially for you and every pain, hurt, worry and fear that you harbor. He notices them all and He cares so deeply. Scripture tells us that he takes account of every tear and keeps them in a jar (Psalms 56:8). How comforting and loving He is!
We serve a God who wanted so much to have relationship with us, that He clothed Himself in skin, volunteered to go through human experiences of joys and pain, just to be relatable with you and I! Our suffering is not uncommon to Him (Hebrews 4:15). He knows the feelings of sickness, broken and betrayed friendships, disappointment in others, the sting of being gossiped about, the pain of a broken heart, the grief of dying loved ones and the agony that comes from scars. There is nothing that we can go through that our Lord is oblivious to. So as we go through our trials, our hurts and our moments of discontentment, we can rejoice, because inspite of it all, we have the victory over everything in Jesus!

I was so grateful to come home Wednesday evening...finally!!! Exhausted from all the physical, emotional and mental pain and stress, all I could do was be thankful to my God, who promised to never leave me or forsake me. My recovering is still in process, but each day I am reminded that His love never fails and that His Spirit is always with me. We are not alone- left to barely go through by ourselves. We belong to a loving King, who prays for us (John 17:20), who weeps with us (John 11:33-35), who celebrates over us (Zephaniah 3:17) and cheers us on. We don't have to be afraid or down hearted during our hurting times. We can rest our hearts in knowing His unfailing love, no matter the difficulties or the pain...and that is truly something to rejoice about!

You matter to God. Never ever doubt that.
~Pearls