Have you heard the expression, “When it rains, it pours,”? Sometimes life does seem like that. In just the past three weeks, we’ve had a death in the family, a girlfriend had a mastectomy for breast cancer, our youth pastor broke his back and had surgery; and another pastor friend was in the hospital with a neurological reaction to some medication that caused seizures and stroke symptoms.
Overwhelmed
Hearts will mend in time over the loss of our loved ones, my friend is going to be fine and has good post-surgery reports; our youth pastor will make a full recovery and our pastor friend will recover as well. But sometimes…
One of my friends was feeling emotionally worn out and said she just couldn’t take one more thing. I know what she means. You start to worry there will be more bad news. Your heart feels raw. Too many tears. Too much shock. Too much loss and fear of loss.
He is with Us
In those moments, the most important thing to remember is—Him. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus. We need to look to Him. He is with us. He is with us and He loves us. He cares for our every care. He is concerned for all of our feelings. He will give us strength. He will carry us through. When we are ready, He will set us down and we will walk again. By His grace, we will walk through the difficult times and they will pass.
Sometimes we act like we are all alone in these things, these times, these circumstances. We forget that the Holy Spirit is called our Comforter. He is our comfort and our strength. John 14:6 says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” (KJV) To abide with us forever—meaning, He is always with us and will never leave us.
Hold His Hand
Just knowing the Lord is with me, that the Holy Spirit is surrounding me, brings me comfort and peace. When times like this come and I feel overwhelmed, I reach my hand up to take His and sensing His Presence with me makes all the difference. I love this verse in Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” The tension eases away. He is my Help.
We serve an awesome, all-powerful, caring and loving God. He is never outside our pain. He is never looking the other way when we hurt. We always have His full attention and He looks on us with love and compassion. II Cor. 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,”
Our God of All Comfort
He is our comfort. We can cling to the truth that God is with us. We will feel less overwhelmed if we meditate on the Lord and let His peace rule our hearts. There are difficult, challenging and painful seasons in life, but through it all, God is with us. He is loving us and if we allow Him, He will comfort us. That’s what He wants to do more than anything.
So, if life feels like you’re stuck in a downpour, stand under the umbrella of the comfort of the Lord and keep walking through. He is with you.
In what ways do you need the Lord to comfort you today?