The Bible: God’s Comfort in Suffering
My heart goes out to anyone who suffers with pain. After multiple spinal fusion surgeries, procedures, and implants, over the years, scar tissue and arthritis have developed that continue to pinch on the nerves in my lower back. At times, this causes excruciating pain, driving me to the floor crying out to God for relief. In those anxious moments, I often think of Jesus’ promise to His disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you…Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” I’ve learned when God gives me His peace, He also gives me the sense of the presence of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Another promise that often comes to mind is Psalm 119:50, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” What promise? The promise of God’s presence in our sufferings. When we remember promises like these, found in God’s word, that’s when God’s comfort envelops us! As long as I know Jesus is “lying on the floor” with me in my suffering, I can endure just about anything, and so can you!
Whatever your hardships, your pain, your suffering, and the afflictions that you navigate through today, however impossible or unimaginable the situation, God’s presence and God’s promises can console you in a way nothing and nobody can, because they shine the light of hope into what would otherwise be an impossible or unimaginable situation. That’s why someone who suffers extraordinary pain seems inexplicably peaceful and content.
Beloved, whether your pain is physical, emotional, or spiritual, God offers you the very best and the most complete comfort available…Himself…through His presence and His promises! If you are like me, lying on the floor in pain and suffering, why not trust God, His promises, and His presence? And with Jesus lying on the floor with you in your suffering, you will be able to endure just about anything! I surely can, and you can too!
This is Laine Wilder for Carry the Light Ministries, bringing you Insights From an Elder.
by Laine Wilder
Author of “Insights From an Elder” for
Carry the Light Ministries
