I’ve heard it said many times that autumn to winter, October to December, is the most busy and stressful time of year. There are several holidays we must prepare for, people to coordinate with, and we have to brace ourselves for the oncoming cold. Certainly the past couple years having to do all this on top of COVID has not been easy. But as I look at the year as a whole, I wonder if this is the stressful time of year, or if the year itself is stressful. Certainly the discourse in the community, the negativity on the news, and the ever growing list of challenges don’t seem to take a break when the holidays pass. In my own life I’ve been reminded very recently of just how stressful and painful life can become. When I turned to God’s word for help, I read this verse where Jesus speaks:
John 14:1 (NIV) – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”
I read that and I am all for it. Yeah, let’s go! Get rid of that stress and those troubles! And then as I look around, nothing has changed. I still feel the pain in my heart from burdens and wounds. I still feel my worries pressing in; I feel the weight of my failures and regrets. In those moments, I often will whisper a little chant to myself.
“The Lord is with me, I shall not fear. God is with me, what can harm me?” I’ll repeat these words over and over, and let them seep into my heart. And it works, until I stop chanting and look at my situation again.
The most disheartening truth I think we can face in a trial is the knowledge that trusting in God won’t immediately take away the pain. We live in a broken world full of sinful people, of which none of us can be called innocent. I feel it deep in my soul when Paul writes, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15, NIV).
When I reach out to God in the midst of my pain, and he doesn’t take it away, I become frustrated and sorrowful. I know all things are possible for him, and I can’t help but wonder why he allows me this pain.
I hope you know there is a reason he allows it. I love the way it’s described in the song “Diamonds” by Hawk Nelson.
“I’ll surrender to the power of being crushed by love“
…
“He is refining and in his timing
He’s making diamonds out of us.”
But right now I don’t want to focus on the why of our pain, I want to focus on what Jesus said in John 14:1. This is something I have struggled with. When my heart is in pain, and I know I should hand it over to Jesus, yet the pain and the trouble remains on my heart. I wonder then if God is letting me down, or perhaps if I’m letting him down and not properly surrendering to him. Maybe you’ve felt the same way.
The thing is, the pain isn’t going to fade away immediately. We may have to bear it a little while, and it may come back again at a time when we thought it was gone. But I have learned through my time with God that if we bring our pain before him, if we open our hearts and trust him to heal us, he will. I may bear that pain for a little while, but I will bear it a lot longer if I don’t surrender it to Jesus.
My prayer for you today is that the next time you are faced with pain, don’t be discouraged when you take it to God if it doesn’t fade quickly. Trust in him, because he really does love you, and he will bring you out of it.
Jesus loves you, and so do I.
( “Diamonds”, by Hawk Nelson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1ARbpB0gA&ab_channel=HawkNelsonVEVO )