Not Too Late

Your friends don’t always understand what has you upset. You are unique, and when it comes to things that hurt you and your feelings about what is going on in the world, not everyone will be affected the same way you are. When you feel misunderstood, know that God sees you.

Your family might get uncomfortable when you cry. They might try to stop you or tell you that things really aren’t as bad as you think. Your hurts are real, though, and so are your feelings. God sees your pain when others don’t understand how you are feeling or don’t have the patience to deal with you.

When you feel like your pain is yours alone and no one is going to stand by you or help you through it, know that God is there. He sees your tears, and He cares about you. He values you. He hurts for you. Jesus identifies with your pain, and He weeps alongside you. Jesus grieves what you grieve.

God is not ashamed of you when you cry, and He is not going to tell you to stop. God knows what types of things bother you. He understands you. You can reach out to Him when you feel alone in your pain. He will never turn you away. • Emily Acker

• Do you feel alone when you are hurting? Sometimes, other people don’t know how to be there for us in our pain, and this can make us feel even worse. In John 11, when Jesus’s friend Mary was crying because her brother Lazarus had died, Jesus did not tell her to stop. Even though Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus wept with Mary (verse 35). In the same way, Jesus weeps with you when you are hurting.

• Jesus understands your pain because He has been through similar pain (Hebrews 4:14-16). He was willing to be wounded so that you could be healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). How might this truth give you hope?

• In 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Paul talks about God comforting us, and then he reminds us we can comfort others “through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.†How could receiving God’s compassion for us help us show compassion to others?

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (CSB)

Read Verses:

Rom.3.23-Rom.3.24|Eph.2.1-Eph.2.10