Doubt.
Some of us are feeling a little battered and bruised right now. Maybe it’s just the ongoing stress of the unknown or maybe it’s the stress of the dailies of life. And with that perhaps we are struggling to feel the nearness of God.
When I was in my early 30s, I experienced nine months of debilitating back pain. I couldn’t tie my shoes or pick up my kids, and I often slept on the floor. I cried more tears than you could imagine and cried out to God to heal me.
One night, I was extremely miserable and in pain. My oldest child had gone to sleep in our bed, so I laid down in his. I remember crying and crying out to the Lord, asking, “Do you love me? I don’t feel like you are here with me.” What I heard in return was “Do you trust Me?”
At that moment, I laid down my flailing grasp for control and leaned into the steadfast nearness of Jesus and His perfect love.
At that moment, I laid down my flailing grasp for control and leaned into the steadfast nearness of Jesus and His perfect love. “I trust you, Lord,” I whispered through my tears, “And I trust your goodness and your love for me even in the midst of my pain.”
Maybe you are asking God the same questions: “Do you love me?” and “Where are you?” Maybe your pain is not physical, but perhaps the pain of betrayal by a friend, the loss of a loved one, the darkness of depression or the constant anxiety in your stomach.
Maybe you are grieving that life has not turned out as you dreamed it would and you are struggling to make sense of it all.
Perhaps you are the source of your own pain…the feeling of being a disappointment or never measuring up to your own expectations or past mistakes or sins that hold you hostage under the chains of shame and condemnation.
I’ve been there.
And here’s what I can tell you, “There’s nothing the nearness of Jesus cannot heal” (Michael Wells).
The beauty of the Lord is this: His presence is not based on our pain, our performance, or our feelings.
You can trust in His promises to be near:
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).”
Psalms 145:18 AMP
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 ESV
By faith, trust in His nearness.
Call out to Him and preach the gospel to yourself.
While healing may be a process, His presence is a promise.
(Need more verses to pray or promises to claim in the midst of pain or doubt? Message me. I’m happy to share.)
