A Spirit Not Of Fear

Pain is everywhere. I hear about it at church, at home; I see people experience it every day. Sometimes that person is a stranger. Sometimes a friend. Sometimes family. Sometimes it’s me in pain. Pain touches everyone and leaves its mark everywhere you go. In short, it’s unavoidable.

Perhaps the greatest and most difficult pain to experience is when we hurt for those we love. It grieves me so deeply to see a loved one hurting, I wish I could experience their pain just so they don’t have to. Because when they’re hurting, I feel even more helpless than when I’m the one in pain.

Imagine how much Jesus must have hurt for us, that he would die to give us hope! We were broken and He healed us, we were lost and He found us. We were hurting and He gave us joy. And when He comes again and all things are made new, every tear and every sorrow will be wiped away forever.

That doesn’t mean we don’t hurt. In a world so full of sin and hardship and death, pain surrounds us continually. But in the midst of pain, we have hope. Because nothing we experience now, no hurt, no hardship, can compare to the peace and glory we are gaining in Christ. And when the day comes and we are drawn into His presence forever, there will be no greater joy in heaven or earth.

For all sorrows will be over, and we will live in a place of no tears. Forever.