In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender God - 4 Days of Hope and Encouragement for the Suffererنموونە

Cry

Before my son spoke his first word, he had physically suffered more than most adults have in their lifetime. Every month he was afflicted with high fevers that left him limp in my arms for long days and nights. His mouth broke out in sores, his joints hurt, and he suffered from chronic skin rashes and intestinal pain. He was intolerant of multiple foods, and what was a “simple cold” for most children meant weeks and months of health complications for Jeremy. I will never forget the night he stopped breathing, and my husband and I rushed him to the emergency room just a mile up the road from us. My precious child, my only son, suffered in ways that wrecked this mama’s heart.

On my son’s healthier days, I challenged him to develop new skills, stretched him beyond his comfort zone, and was delighted to see him do things independently. But on his days of pain and illness, I scooped him into my arms and looked and listened attentively to his every cry and discomfort. Even as a weary, sleepless, often overwhelmed, and anxious mama, I wanted to meet his every need, comfort him, and track down the best medical care possible. Before he even learned to tell me what was wrong or ask me for what he needed, Jeremy would cry out in his pain for me, and that alone stirred my heart to love in ways I’d never known before.

I can only imagine how much more our Perfect Parent— who is never tired or anxious and always knows what is wrong with us and what to do about it—longs to care for us when we cry to Him. Imagine how His heart feels when we weep and wail in pain. For years I have loved Isaiah 63:9 for the glimpse it gives us into God’s heart:

“In all their suffering, he suffered , and the angel of his presence saved them. He redeemed them because of his love and compassion; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of the past.”

The God who suffers in you and with you wants you to cry to Him, wants you to “pour out your heart like water before the Lord’s presence” (Lam. 2:19; see also Ps. 62:8). Like a small child in pain, you may not have words for your suffering. Maybe sometimes all you can do is writhe and flail, weep and wail. Other times, you can use the words of the psalmists to express your longings. Whether we have words or just groans, we can cry to God, knowing He understands our suffering and will carry us through it with His love and compassion.

The beauty of spending so many years crying out to God is that I can look back to see He has always answered me—so I can trust He will answer me again. He will love me through this. He will comfort me. Again and again, I have experienced the truth of Isaiah 66:13: “As a mother comforts her son, so I [God] will comfort you.”

As my son used to cry out for me in his misery—and I would drop everything to comfort and care for him—so I cry out to the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). And from the depths of your own suffering, you can cry out to Him too and experience His perfect comfort once again. Oh, how He loves you.