“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest . . . for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” –Matthew 11:28-29
Pain, who can escape this part of our reality? No one. Though we all try to avoid it, pain eventually catches up to us all.
Whether through the loss of a loved one, the lack of the life we’ve planned for, or through relational heartache, pain never discriminates. It eventually finds us all, brings us to our knees and makes us yearn for relief. Pain is raw, real, excruciating to go through, and completely unavoidable. This is a broken world, and no one escapes without some painful wounds.
But in the midst of it all, God speaks.
I know no other time when my heart is able to hear the call of my savior more clearly than when I am in dyer pain. My heart may be breaking, my world crumbling around me, but when I turn my ear to the Lord and lay on my face before him, the intimacy is unparalleled. God speaks softly in the morning, he laughs with me in times of joy, but he yells with a megaphone when all is being torn-up inside of me.
The Scriptures are true, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). But I must turn to him to hear his call. Though he is close to me, I still must seek after him. It is a real relationship, requiring me to respond to him. He is available to console me, heal me, and mend all that has been marred, but I must come to him.
When I finally get a moment to breath after the original blow, if I quiet my heart long enough, the shout of my Lord becomes louder and louder, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, for I will give you rest.” Like a flickering light seen in the distance when lost at sea, getting larger and larger as I near the shadowy coast, my Lord’s voice is like a lighthouse guiding me through the storm. Though I am young, I grow tired and weary, but when I trust in the Lord he renews my strength (Isaiah 40:30-31).
Don’t waste your pain. God is always eager to use it to draw us closer to him (Romans 8:28). It’s never easy to do, but the results of turning to God in the midst of great trial and pain are truly life changing. A painful event doesn’t need to be your crash site in life; rather, years later after you’ve allowed God to heal you, you can look back and realize that painful event was actually your runway. Use your pain as a launching pad for revival. Use it to catapult you towards God. Use it to push you past a life of mediocrity into a life fully devoted and passionate for the God of your soul, the God who gave everything to set you free.
Jesus Christ bore our pain, he was a man of sorrows, and he knows what it’s like to have experienced loss (Isaiah 53: 3-5). He may not change your circumstance, but he has promised to change and heal your heart in the process.
God loves you, and if you’re in pain, let God use it to change you forever. Quiet your soul and see if you do not hear the loudening call of your savior, “Come to me . . . .”