There is a lot of pain in people’s lives; pain of every kind. One friend wrote of the severe physical pain she is having and unable to get into the Dr. for 2 weeks. Others wrote of the loss of a loved one.
 
Many speak of the pain of loneliness they are experiencing and that was even before the pandemic. Self-isolation and quarantine have only made matters worse.  Some write about painful feelings of rejection but what do we do with all of those feelings? Do we give up?  Think of King David whose own son rejected him or the apostle Paul who had to flee for his very life from those who hated him. We can all feel like victims when those hurtful things happen to us but that only makes us feel bitter and lash out at those around us.
 
We have a place to go for we can cry out to God who is the one who brings healing to our souls. Only He can give us a sense of belonging, love that is unconditional, and fill the empty space in our hearts. When we come to experience that love, we don’t need to have 1,000 likes online for we know we are loved by the One who is love. Even when things get difficult God uses those challenges to refine us.
 
I was amazed and touched when I read about a Jesuit priest, Walter Ciszek, who was accused of being a Vatican Spy. He spent five years in a Moscow prison and 15 years of hard labor in a Siberian prison camp, and yet he didn’t give up. In fact, he was thankful to God for stripping away his external comforts and offered his suffering to the Lord as it brought him closer.
 
We can all offer our pain, our rejections, our sorrows to the Lord and experience His presence and power. As it says in Psalm 91:1 (Amplified), “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand).” Let us run to that protective secret place and give all our hurts to Him.
 
Challenge for today: Give the Lord all your pain and sorrows and invite His power into your situation.