It was the kind of Wednesday night when my chatty group of teenagers were eerily silent. Not because anything was wrong, but because they were…thinking. Finally, after about a year as their small group leader, the girls were opening up—about everything: their fears and their questions. And I prayed desperately for wisdom. Tonight’s topic was big: Does God really care when I’m hurting?
I’ve asked that question, too. When I was in the oncology department as a twenty-three-year-old, I asked that question. When two of my grandparents passed away within days of each other, I asked it again.
This time, the question came from a fifteen-year-old who lost her dad a couple years prior. He was a youth pastor—the kind of dad whose faith inspired her own. And his death shattered who she believed God to be. Now, she is re-acquainting herself with her heavenly Father. And this was a question she harbored for far too long.
Many of us know the answer to this question—or at least, we know it on a rational level. We know that God cares. Of course He cares. God is love, right? But what about those moments when we ourselves are in the midst of gut-wrenching sorrow? Where can we go in Scripture to remind ourselves of what is true?
Jesus Draws Near to the Hurting
One of my favorite examples of Jesus drawing near to the hurting is found in Luke 7:11–17. Jesus observes a funeral as a crowd follows an open casket out of the city. Amidst the crowd is the deceased man’s mother, a widow. That man was her only son; the widow is now alone. Not only has she lost her family, she’s lost her financial security and the security of her future. My heart breaks thinking about the depth of her sadness. Scripture doesn’t reveal much about the woman, except that she is crying.
What we do know is that Jesus’s first words to her are, “Don’t weep.” He takes compassion on the widow and enters into her despair. She doesn’t beg. She doesn’t ask him to intervene. Jesus’s tender sympathy for the woman’s pain propels him to not only wipe her tears, but to exercise His heavenly authority on her behalf. Jesus raises the woman’s son from the dead. He returns the man, fully restored, to his mother. Can you imagine the reunion? The mother’s joy? Her relief? All because the heart of her Lord saw her despair and was moved to act in compassion.
Jesus is not a bystander to our pain. He is not observing from afar, seeing how things will shake out. No, Jesus took gracious step after step toward the heartbroken woman. He was not afraid of her tears or her mourning, rather He was benevolent—He desired her pain to cease. It’s no wonder that David declares in Psalm 103:8, “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.” Jesus healing the widow’s son is characteristic of His heart. It’s who God is. It’s love in action.
God Draws Near to You
Jesus’s humanity is a testament to God’s abounding love. God did not merely let His people suffer. He saw the heartbreak and brokenness sin caused, and drew near in the most remarkable, intimate way that we could imagine. The God of the universe became flesh. Jesus was knit together in Mary’s womb, just as we are. He was born in a manger and nursed at his mother’s breast. Jesus felt the sting of a sunburn; the sadness of being misunderstood. He wept with the mourners.
God was so compassionate and gracious that He entered into our reality to save us. To see the length and width and breadth and depth of God’s love, we need look no further than the Cross. Where God submitted Himself to evil to conquer evil. Jesus died to ensure that nothing could separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:38–39).
God cared so much about our pain that He sent His only Son to suffer, so that we may never have to experience pain without His presence. In our darkest moments, if you have entrusted your life to Christ, God dwells with you. Grace overflows to you, so that you can have everything you need to excel in the good work God calls you to today (2 Corinthians 9:8). You have the Holy Spirit to remind you that He’s in control—that He is working all things for your good (Romans 8:28). You have God’s enduring Word to remind you of His faithfulness throughout history and today.
The answer to the question, “Does God really care if I am hurting?” is a resounding yes. When pain shatters who we believe God to be, we can remember Christ—our Savior who draws near in compassion—to comfort us with a love that we can only begin to wrap our minds around.
Jesus may not physically wipe your tears now, but He will one day (Revelation 21:4). Jesus promises to return to establish His kingdom. Pain will be a distant memory; you walk in utter peace and complete joy in the presence of your Savior. Yes, Jesus has secured His presence with you now and forevermore. There is not a single day, or a single moment, when you will be without your God. You are His. He loves you. So much so that He sent Jesus.
That’s the truth we recalled in our small group that night. That’s the love we clung to as we talked about pain that just didn’t seem to make sense. We may not ever understand, we may not ever get an answer to our “why,” but we can cling to God’s consistent, loving character shown throughout the pages of our Bibles, and in the life of our beloved Jesus. God cares about your pain, for He chose to endure pain Himself, so that you may have hope today and forevermore.
If you’d like to learn more about God’s character in our suffering check out The Daily Grace Co.’s Bible study Sacred Suffering | A Study on the Book of Job or the booklet Faith Questions | Suffering.
