Topic: The God Who Sees Our Pain – Daily Devotional by Proverbs 31 Ministries 4 May 2021
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The God Who Sees Our Pain
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Psalm 139:23 (NIV)
Many years ago, I lived on a faraway island while I was pregnant with our youngest child. Everything might have been fine, except I had no medical care at all. Why? The only doctor available believed my child was not viable.
I felt distraught and hopeless, facing a pregnancy full of unknowns. But I knew God saw me, and He saw my pain. So I did the only thing I could: I offered it to Him. I couldn’t see Him, but I sensed His presence in ways I cannot express in words.
No matter where we live or who we are, God sees us, and He knows every detail of our pain. He comprehends the unexplainable anguish that invades our lives like an intruder bent on stealing valuables — our self-esteem, purity, health, hope, future and more.
In Genesis, we read about another woman in distress, facing hopelessness and unknowns: Sarah’s slave Hagar, who ran away to the desert when she was mistreated by her mistress. The angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar as she was alone and despairing in the wilderness and assured her that it was safe to return.
As a servant, Hagar was considered unimportant and was sometimes treated poorly. But God valued her enough to communicate with her directly. He saw Hagar’s pain, and He promised to give her a son and multiply her descendants so they would be too many to count.
Pain comes in various forms: physical pain as we fight cancer. Emotional pain as we experience a severed relationship. Financial pain when our position is terminated and bills stack up. Spiritual pain when we question God’s love because life is so hard. Pain saps our energy and often leads to bitterness and despair. Like a wicked taskmaster, it can enslave us.
But God sees us, and He cares deeply. He doesn’t waste the pain in our lives. As my daughter Christy likes to say, “God never wastes our pain when it’s offered to Him.” Perhaps our pain will draw us close to Him, keep us from harm or enable us to encourage others who are suffering. We may not know God’s plan for our pain until heaven, but we can be assured, as Hagar was: He sees us and loves us.
Psalm 139 encourages us that God sees us in every moment of our lives, and our key verse reminds us that God knows our hearts and our anxious thoughts: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). From the time He formed us in our mother’s womb until we see Him face-to-face, we are never out of His sight. There is no place to flee from His presence. God sees us in the dark because it is as bright as the day to Him. He sees us when we wander. He sees every thought, word and action. He knows our motives and our deepest desires. He is all around us, in front of us and behind us, and His hand is on us. He leads us. He holds us. He searches us, and He knows us.
During my last pregnancy on that faraway island, this psalm became especially meaningful to me. When I was flooded with the pain of the unknown, I clung to the truth that God saw me.
No matter what your pain is, God sees you too! You may feel as if you are invisible, that no one really sees you or comprehends your hurt and despair. When you begin to doubt that God sees you, turn again to Psalm 139. Our God sees us, knows everything about us and loves us perfectly!
Lord, thank You for being a God who sees me and knows me completely. Thank You for having compassion for my pain and struggles. Please take my pain and use it for good in my life, drawing me closer to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY
Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (NIV)
Genesis 16:11, “The angel of the LORD also said to her: ‘You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.’” (NIV)