He Knows Your Pain

A friend came to talk with me a few years ago. She was in great pain over the death of her eight-year-old daughter several years earlier. The child had developed a rare, aggressive cancer in her sinuses. Eventually she was unable to eat or breathe and her face became terribly disfigured. She died a horrible death.

As you might expect, the mother became totally focused on her young daughter for months, leaving the other members of her family on their own. She simply did not have enough energy to tend to anyone else. She prayed, they sang sweet songs, sometimes they even laughed. She invited others to come anoint and pray over her child. But, ultimately, the child died.

The mother did not understand. She had clung to the words of James 5:14 (Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will raise him up.)

Hadn’t she done all the right things? Didn’t she have enough faith? She was angry with God. Very angry.

Finally, she said to me, “No one understands my pain! My loss! No one!”

Quietly I asked, “Do you really believe God does not understand? He, too, watched as His son died an excruciating death. He fees your loss more than anyone.”

“Are you willing to ask Him what He wants you to know about this?”

Through sobs that shook her from head to toe, she began to pray. She fell to her knees and finally lay flat on the floor as she pounded the rug and cried out to God. When she was spent and finally began to rise, I saw a wobbly smile. She said, “He knows my pain. He understands. My sweet Tara is safe and whole in His arms. The Lord did raise her up. I just didn’t know it.”

When she left that day, the sadness of her loss remained, but her anguish was gone.

If you are willing to ask and listen, he will calm your heart, as well.

Blessings in the Lamb,

Annette