“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

Reflection:
It’s hard to see God in the pain. When your body aches, when your soul feels worn thin, when you’re carrying a weight no one else can see it’s easy to wonder if God has stepped back. Or worse, if He ever showed up at all.

When I became handicapped as a teenager, I thought my life was over. I felt like I had lost everything my plans, my identity, my future. Pain became a constant companion. Not just sometimes. Not just on bad days. Every waking moment. And for a long time, I didn’t know how to pray through that.

But in time, I learned this: God didn’t abandon me in the pain. He met me there.

He didn’t take it all away, but He used it. He used it to soften me. To slow me down. To show me things I would’ve never seen otherwise. And somehow, even in the breaking, He began rebuilding me into something new.

I don’t always understand why suffering stays. I won’t pretend it’s easy. But I do know this: God is near to the brokenhearted not just the emotionally broken, but the physically broken too. And He doesn’t waste our pain. He weeps with us in it. He walks with us through it. And He molds something eternal in the middle of it.

Prayer:
Lord, the pain is heavy and I don’t always understand it. But thank You for never leaving me alone in it. Thank You for seeing my suffering and still calling me worthy, still calling me loved. Use this pain for something greater than I can see. Let it soften me, shape me, and lead others to Your heart. Amen.