“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’” (Revelation 21:3-4 NLT)
Being the wimp that I am, I have a very low tolerance for pain. Having had several kidney stones and having had to wait in the emergency room numerous times while they confirmed that I indeed had a kidney stone, in agony I was begging them to give me something for my pain, but my cries fell on deaf ears. I can’t help but believe there are people in our spheres of influence who are crying out in pain, but their cries are falling on deaf ears.
As the verses above indicate, there is coming a day, sooner than any of us can imagine, when pain will no longer be an issue for those who are in Christ Jesus. But the exciting part to me, that brings me much comfort even in the midst of my pain, is that I’m seen! The Lord is with me NOW! And He’s with you, child of God. The same God who will be with us throughout eternity is with us NOW!
As a child of God, we don’t take a breath without His presence with us. “Then why don’t I feel His presence?” Do you feel the air you breathe? Do you feel the blood flowing through your heart, through your body, keeping you alive?
We place far too much emphasis on feelings. Emotions are rarely, if ever, a reliable source of what’s happening in our lives. There are so many sources of pain, each of which has its own system of torture and agony. Emotional pain may have physical manifestations, but words aren’t adequate to describe what happens in grief when it seems our heart has been torn out of our chest.
When our sense of loss is beyond words to describe. When we can hardly open our eyes without seeing something to remind us of that one who so filled our lives with such love and joy and happiness. The bitterness of our cup of grief seems in those moments to be incurable. Yet, the truth is, it is not.
Two things encourage me when I consider the pain I/we face as believers in Jesus. First, we never face those traumatic times alone. Vaneetha Rendal Risner wrote: “We never drink the bitter cup or endure any pain without him.” There is no comfort in empty words or hollow promises, but the presence of the Lord is more real than the skin on our bodies.
He literally NEVER leaves us and is, as His Word promises in Psalm 46:1-3: “our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”
The point is simply this – we’re literally never alone! No matter what our emotions tell us, we can count on the presence of the Lord to be with us. Even though His presence doesn’t guarantee immediate relief, He doesn’t jump in and jump out, He’s with us every step of the way. I love the picture of the footprints across the desert and the caption that says: “Jesus, I noticed when I was struggling the most You left me. There was only one set of footprints.” “No, precious one, that was the time I was carrying you!”
There is no cup so bitter our compassionate Savior is not “tasting” it with us. Take heart, you are NEVER alone!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 