"Pain"

Pain is part of this earth’s hell,

And few escape its touch,

Volumes written, truth to tell,

Almost seems too much,

When children suffer, don’t know why,

And lay in torment down,

And we who love them helpless sigh,

When no cure is found.

Or loved ones find out they are sick,

And some don’t have much time,

Days are flying by so quick,

With no reason and no rhyme.

And painful too the hurt that spreads,

When hatred takes control,

Bitterness in hearts imbed,

And digs a deeper hole.

Still we know that God’s great power,

Brings healing and relief,

And in our worst and desperate hour,

Gives comfort to our grief.

The miracles of grace it seems,

Give hope to change it all,

But sometimes it specific streams,

To just one need that calls.

Whether all or part of pain,

None escapes His reach,

And no doubt in Jesus’ name,

He’ll use it all to teach,

How we should depend on Him,

In everything give thanks,

Led by the Holy Spirit’s whim,

Invest in heaven’s banks.

And so, my friend, we with you pray,

That Christ will be your peace,

Lift your every weight away,

And from pain get release.

“in my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; He saved me from all my troubles.” (Psalm 34:6, NLT)

Desperate needs give rise to desperate prayers. The psalmist’s testimony was that the Lord heard His cry and saved him fro all his troubles! What a testimony! It gives us hope when we are tempted to think that our situation is hopeless and our pain endless. One of my favorite preachers used to say that the Lord met him at the end of “Wit’s End Blvd.” When you get to the end of your strength and turn to Jesus, amazing things can happen. And more quickly than you might expect. Prayer is not magic and Jesus’ name is no formula promised to manipulate God. But those who call on the Lord in Jesus’ name can expect Him to hear and respond. Sometimes He shows us and does a miracle that changes everything. Sometimes He only changes us. But, either way, the Lord alone brings relief. Don’t forget it.

Lord, help us receive relief from You, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.