PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT EDITED. IT JUST POURED OUT OF ME. I FEEL STRONGLY COMPELLED TO PUBLISH IT IMMEDIATELY AS THOUGH SOMEONE DESPERATELY NEEDING COMFORT RIGHT NOW MIGHT BE BLESSED BY GOD THROUGH IT. PLEASE GIVE NO REGARD TO ANY EDITING ISSUES. PLEASE OPEN YOUR HEART TO THE LOVE OF GOD AS I PRAY HE WILL SPEAK THROUGH THIS TO YOUR HEART. IN HIS LOVE, LARA.
“The pain is unbearable, Lord,” I essentially prayed to God as I stood at the kitchen counter preparing dinner for my beloved special needs ministry dogs Miss Mercy and Gracie.
After over 5 years on the road full-time for the Lord and ministry, I had finally really slowed down enough to face some of the losses I had faced over the years that I had quite honestly stayed too busy to really address. Now as I fixed their dinner I was facing an onslaught of emotion. And in sincerity it was simply too much for me to handle. It was like a tidal wave of emotional pain I knew for certain would take over and not let me come up for air. I knew once I went under, alone, it was all over. But that was when God reminded me.
I could pray. I did not need to go through the grief alone. He would be with me. Just like He is always with me. Just like He is always with His children. Those who have turned from our sins, believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and in His death and resurrection, and have truly turned to God and His ways, are forgiven, promised a forever relationship with God, and the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. We are not alone. God is with us forever. Which means dealing with searing emotional pain, emotional pain so gargantuan, so unfathomable, so enormous we feel we can’t possibly make it through, we don’t have to go it alone.
God is with us. I have faced seemingly relentless trials all the way back to childhood. The details
don’t matter. Suffice it to say I spent about 20 years thinking suicide must be the answer. How
could I possibly go on with all that emotional pain.
Friend, when our hearts our overwhelmed, when the emotions are simply too big for us, when
the pain is simply way, way too much, let us understand we can cry out to the Lord and ask Him
to do what I did in that little prayer. We can ask Him to take us through it.
There is no love, no mercy, no grace, no comfort, no healing, no understanding, no kindness
no tenderness, no care, no goodness, no friendship, no hope, and no peace like that which we can find from the Lord, in the Lord, and through the Lord. Sure, it is such an incredible blessing when God sends us special loving people to help us go through the trials of this life. But nobody, absolutely nobody, and nothing compares with Jesus and His indescribable love.
If your emotional pain feels too great to bear, friend, please cry out to the Lord. Run to Him. Seek Him. Pray to Him. Cry before Him. Pour out your heart to Him. Open the Bible. Read. Spend time in the presence of God alone with Him. Praise and worship Him. Listen for the voice of His Holy Spirit speaking to your heart. Find rest in Him. Experience His lovingkindness. And trust Him as you take refuge under His wings, in His sweet blessed shelter, to lead you through the pain. When you find yourself exhausted from it all, may you sleep deeply in the magnificence of His everlasting almighty healing arms. Amen!
“Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings…” Psalms 61:1-4 NKJV
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”” Psalms 91:1-2 NKJV
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NKJV