Hope When It’s Heavy: Trusting God Is Good When Your Season Is Notಮಾದರಿ

Even Though I Am Hurting... I Will Be Honest with God

Pain can make us feel like retreating from people, from ourselves, even from God. But what if your hurting heart is precisely what God is drawing near to? Psalm 34:18 is a verse I often repeat to myself as I pray for someone going through something heartbreaking and spirit-crushing. I find it comforting to picture God drawing close to us in our broken and crushing moments. I am grateful to have personally experienced His nearness in such times.

Friend, God doesn’t flinch at your grief. He doesn’t turn away from your anger or sadness. Instead, He invites you to bring it all to Him. Your tears are safe in His hands. I learned not long ago that there are different types of tears, and each has a very intentional purpose in how we process hurt and life. Some studies have found indications that emotional tears can help with stress relief, and some have seen suggestions that these tears stimulate the production of endorphins (aka feel-good hormones that help activate receptors in your body that help cause an analgesic state)! This is scientific evidence of how God designed us so intentionally that the very tears we sometimes try to avoid are part of the way He is helping us process and heal. Our tears are a gift from the Creator Himself.

Let go of the pressure to hold it together. Let your good and kind God hold you instead. And let those healing tears flow.

Prayer:
Lord, I am hurting. I bring You my raw, honest heart. Thank You for being a safe place for my emotions. Thank You for making me so intentionally, and thank You for the gift of tears. How precious that You count my every tear. You are so good and so kind. I trust that You are near, and that You are my comforter. Amen.

(reference: Cleveland Eye Clinic, What Are Tears Made Of, 2022)