I didn’t expect to wake up the other morning and have an argument with my daughter and I didn’t expect to go home last night and end up arguing with my sister either. I didn’t know when I woke up this morning that I was going to lay in my bed all day feeling sorry for myself, and I had no idea that the difficult conversation that I had with my dad over the weekend would keep replaying in my head and hurting my heart.
I didn’t expect any of this to happen when I went to bed Saturday night, or when I woke up Sunday morning, but it did, so where do I go from here?
What do we do when unexpected things happen that weigh heavy on our hearts? Do we turn to God right away, or do we first try to get through it on our own accord? Where do we find peace and comfort in our afflictions?
I have sometimes asked, “Where is God when I am hurting so bad?” “Where is God when my heart feels so heavy in my chest that I feel like I can’t breathe?” “Where is God when I feel afraid or have questions that need to be answered?”, and “Where is God when I don’t feel Him near me?” “Is He far from me, or have I moved away from Him?” “Where is God when I need Him the most?”
Well let me tell you, HE IS HERE! He is always here!
God’s word in Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
And in Acts 17: 27, God’s word says, “God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.”
You see friends and family, God is always close to us, and He never leaves our side. So, why does He sometimes feel so very far away? Well, it could be for many reasons…
Perhaps it is because of our behaviors. There are times in our lives when God withdraws His presence because He wants us to pay attention to the destructive path that we are on. God loves us, but He’s a holy God and He’s not going to indulge us when we’re living in a way that contradicts His Word.
Or maybe we are not seeking Him the way that we should. Have you ever wanted to pray, but you just couldn’t find the words or the focus to do so? I know there have been times that I wanted to pray, but all I could do is sit there in silence and hang my head. Well, my advice to you is to keep trying! Don’t give up, and if you can’t find the words, then just call out to Him, and hold on to the knowledge that He is there, He hears your cries, and He knows your heart.
As a matter of fact, God’s word in Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.” This verse means to me that the Lord takes account of all of our sadness, all of our pain, all of the teardrops that have flowed from our eyes, and every silent groan from our hurting hearts because of His love for us. Remember He has scheduled every day of our lives and He knows the tears that will result from the afflictions of His people.
Our times are in His hands, and we have a God who knows and loves and cares for everything that causes His children pain, but like our Savior, we gain a closer intimacy with our Father through the things that we suffer in obedience to His will. The wonderful thing is that through it all, we will gain a closeness to His heart of love, and a depth of understanding of our God that we never imagined possible, for God has promised that the day is coming when sorrow will be turned into joy and tears will be turned into laughter – a day when He Himself will wipe away every tear that has fallen from our eyes. Thank You Jesus!
Prayer
Abba, thank You for the hope that we have in You. Thank You for loving us so much that You actually keep track of our tears and our sorrows. Thank You for using these afflictions to make us stronger and to draw us closer to You. Abba I pray today that You continue to remind us of our destructive behaviors when we are on the wrong path, and we thank You in advance for reaching out to bring us back from them. Thank You also for hearing our cries when we cannot find the words to say what is wrong. Thank You for being our healer and protector and thank You for Your promise that one day all of our sorrows will turn into joy and our tears into laughter. We look forward to this day Abba, our hope is in You! In Jesus Name, Amen.