“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”). – Matthew 1:23, NIV
As Christmas time rolls around, I just want us to remember who is Jesus. He is God who came in the flesh and dwelt with us. Jesus is the one who knows pain and suffering. He knows extreme physical pain (dying on the cross for us) and extreme rejection/spiritual pain (as in bearing our sins and God’s rejection of sin on the cross).
One of my good friends embodied this “God with us” very well as I was in the depths of my pain. He would come and simply sit with me. My friend gave me the gift of his presence.
He was with me.
Whatever you may be going through now, remember that God is with us even if we do not feel it. And God understands pain of all sorts. He knows extreme rejection and abandonment. And God does not waste pain as we see from His redeeming His Son’s death on the cross.
Merry Christmas!
And may we never forget that God is Immanuel, God with us.
Would you consider a request to help me understand further? You ve written some really helpful stuff. I am thick headed at times. Your sentence of God does not waste pain. I m ok now but boy there were some real bad moments of pain, n are still some for my eldest child. She s ancient n wise at 18. Would u b willing to expand on that sentence a bit more? It just might help this young lady who wants to worship her dad, like all girls do. N right now, he s truly not a hero. She knows, but he is still able to impact her.
Mom three,
A brief response now:
God can take anything and turn it into something beautiful. However, it may not be what we expect. Job is instructive on this. He never got the answer to his “why?” However, God took his pain and has comforted many a saint since by putting it in the Bible. It has comforted me. That is a brief response or expansion on what I mean as to God not wasting our pain. It transforms our testimony and makes us (and God) more real. That’s what God has done with my suffering at least. Plus, just as a good parent cares about our hurts…God our good Father cares….infinitely more!
Hope that helps a little!
DM
I think through this horrible emotional pain, God deepens our compassion and empathy for others. I bet there will come a time where you daughter can help someone else through a very painful period. She may even save a life. I’m about 6 months into this awful soul rape and do find that I have a much deeper compassion for other people going through difficult times. This pain has not been wasted. I have received some amazing support from people who’ve gone through very painful situations and their compassion and validation has made a major impact on my slow journey to healing. Divorce Minister has used his pain to start this wonderful online ministry that I know has helped me and many others too. I think as time goes on, we will all see more ways how our pain has not been wasted.
DM, I’ve only recently returned to God and the church after more than a quarter century absence. I’m taking it slow because I don’t want to be a God “user”. I don’t want to wake up in a year feeling fully recovered from my pain and decide I don’t need God anymore.
After the recent news that my husband’s girlfriend is 26 (I’m 57), I hit a new low. I finally realized I had NO WHERE else to turn except to God. I’m getting a great deal of comfort from allowing Him back into my life — without it I would be in a suicidal state.
Somehow I’m reminded of a line from the series The Tudors. I doubt the real Catherine of Aragon (Henry VIII’s first wife) said this, but in the film she says:
“… if I had to choose between extreme happiness and extreme sorrow, I would always choose sorrow. When you are happy, you forget… You forget about spiritual things. You forget about God.”
I keep reminding myself of that because I really can’t face my future without God in it. I’ve found a church and I’m becoming active in it. I pray that I continue to nurture this fragile relationship with God.
I’m continually in awe that God is with us and God loves us.
Agreed. And that’s a great quote from The Tudors (regardless if it is accurate historically or not).
And I can relate to your low experience. I am convinced I would be dead today apart from my relationship with Jesus. It was that bad at the low point.
Glad to hear that you are reconnecting with God. He’s not a magic genie who grants us our every wish. However, He is a real friend who is there whether or not we like Him at that moment.
Blessings on your journey, movingliquid!
DM
All.. Thank you! Very, very helpful! Very much appreciated. Gave me a few ideas as to how to combat the shrill “you don’t get it!”. She s absolutely right; I’ll tell her that and acknowledge I don’t get it. ” Nor do I need to. God saw it all, gets it, and God’s ready for you to talk to Him anytime you want.” She’ll likely huff in exasperation, but if I plant the seed, He will do the rest. 🙂