A God Who Cares
He knew my pain more than anyone else
Reference: When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. (Psalm 142:3 NIV)
Explore: The very first foster children who came into our care were a sibling group of three. These two sisters and a brother had come from an abusive family and needed a safe refuge to stay.
While our house became their home for a short period of time, we were not able to care for these children long term. Seeing them leave our place and head into the unknown future broke my heart.
I remember standing up in front of the church where I worked to give the announcements and nearly breaking into tears. Seeing such innocent children being treated so poorly crushed my heart and made me question the world in which I live.
In time, my heart started to heal, but the times I felt the greatest grief was when I worshipped God. He knew my pain more than anyone else and He was the only One who truly understood.
Application: There have been a number of times in my life when I have felt overwhelmed with emotion. I am blessed to have a wonderful and supportive family to help me through difficult times.
But the most intense relationship during these times is with God. I don’t have to put on a brave face before God because He sees straight through it anyway.
As a God who understands me completely, I always feel His overwhelming compassion when I stand in His presence. His Word seems to be brought to light and my faith is raised to a new level when trouble comes.
I don’t know how people endure hardship without the compassion and hope that God provides, but I’m certainly blessed to experience it.
Prayer: Lord, You have endured so much more than I have and I’m not worthy of Your compassion. But Lord, it is because of You that I can see my way through the storm and know there is a bright future before me. Amen.
How does God respond to you in your time of trouble?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.