Does God understand my pain?

Pain in our lives always leads to the question, “Does God understand what’s going on?”

 

It was the middle of the night.

I woke up suddenly, struggling to breathe,

With my heart beating at almost twice its normal speed.

I was scared, very scared.

It took two hours to fall asleep again,

And when morning came,

I could still feel the pain.

Was God there?

Did He understand my pain?

I wonder…

 

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”  (ESV)

 

After several months of back and forth,

The bombshell was dropped.

Autism, they said.

I knew they would say that,

But it still hurt.

A lot.

The rawness lasted two months,

Then it became a dull ache.

An ache that never went away.

Was God there?

Did He understand my pain?

I wonder…

 

 

Just like that, all my hopes and dreams for my boy vanished.

I wanted to blame someone,

Make someone responsible for what happened,

But there was nobody.

So I took my dreams to the closet,

And buried them under a heap of tears.

Was God there?

Did He understand my pain?

I wonder…

Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” ESV

 

 

Pain is real.

Everyone goes through it.

And if you are like me,

You ask God where He is in the midst of the pain.

It’s like we imagine God and pain cannot be mentioned in the same sentence.

And that when we are in pain,

God has forgotten us.

If you’ve ever asked yourself,

Did God understand my pain?

You’re in good company.

 

 

Does God understand pain?

Yes.

He handed His only Son over to die,

In the hands of people who didn’t understand His sacrifice,

For people who didn’t even know they needed Him.

The death that Jesus died was more painful than one can ever imagine.

He endured physical pain,

And the pain of being separated from His Father.

What could be more painful than that?

So, yes, God understands pain.

And God understands my pain.

 

 

I am still learning how to handle God and pain.

I am still learning to trust Him in the midst of pain,

And learning to listen to what He is saying.

He could be correcting me.

He could be teaching me.

He could be strengthening me for what is coming ahead.

He could be making me into a better person.

So I choose to wait patiently for the pain to pass.

And I remind myself over and over,

That yes,

God understands my pain.

 

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (ESV)