Where is God when it hurts Part 1. From Aije Barnes Feb 2 Issue 2 Vol 3

I would like to share with you something which is very close to my heart and has encouraged me through Derek Prince Ministries. Derek is now with The Lord.  I hope it encourage you too particularly if you are going through the season of pain.

Sometimes  we experience challenging situations in our lives which hurts. It might be issues within or without your immediate family or friends which causes the pain or even listening to the news which is not always very good.

With all of this going on, I have often heard the question "where is God when it hurts?" I have often said to myself " how I wish Jesus was here and I could just talk to him just like in the days when he was with his disciples"

This wish is no different from the question -  Where is God when it hurts?

This question formed the title of a well-known book published in the late 1970s by Christian author, Philip Yancey. Even more, it is a question people have asked for centuries—especially in times when trouble hits.

You may have asked that question yourself. You may be asking it now—right in the midst of a situation where you are hurting and needy.
 I’m sure that some people might tend to offer a long theological answer to this challenging matter. However, I want to reduce the answer I would give to an abbreviated, five-word, encouraging response.

Where is God when it hurts? - He’s right there with you.

Obviously, catastrophes like hurricanes are terrible events. But so are the severe spiritual storms we often encounter in everyday life. In those circumstances, especially when they bring pain and upheaval, it really helps to know that Christian friends are praying for you. Hopefully, that ministry of prayer will always take place. But without diminishing that truth, as wonderful as prayer can be, the greatest comfort of all when you are hurting is to know that the Lord is with you in the midst of your troubles.

Wonderful Assurances

 It’s amazing to see how many references in the Bible assure us that the Lord is with us when we are facing trouble. If we were to cite all the verses here, this letter would end up being a hundred pages long. But here are just a few citations. In Psalm 27:5, David assures us that in the day of trouble God will hide you in His pavilion, and in Psalm 46:1, God is described as “a very present help in trouble.” In Psalm 50:15, the Lord issues a command: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you.” In Psalm 91:15, God promises: “I will be with him in trouble.” Nahum 1:7 says, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble.” In one of my favorite passages, Isaiah 41:10, God says, “Fear not, for I am with you…I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you.”

Along with the promises are the biblical accounts. In Jeremiah 33:1, we read that the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah—not while he was in the king’s palace, but “while he was still shut up in the court of the prison.” (Even prison walls could not keep the Lord from bringing help to his chosen servant.) Then there is the account of the three young men whom Nebuchadnezzar threw into the fiery furnace. Looking into the furnace in astonishment, the king himself cried out in Daniel 3:25: “Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Do you know why that fourth glorious man looked like the Son of God? Because that’s who it was—Jesus, the Son of God, who wasn’t content just to watch from afar when those boys were in trouble. He made sure to be right there with them.

Listen to this jewel of encouragement given to Derek by a friend of his: “The Lord doesn't just answer your prayers. He shows up!” Where is the Lord Jesus when you are hurting? Right there with you.

My dear friend there us nothing you are going through that Jesus does not know about. He feels your pain and all you have to do is call out to him and he will hear you and deliver, comfort you and give you His peace. You must trust Him him to help you. He is faithful. So take your problems to Him in prayer and leave them there. Continually thanking Him for His presence and knowing that He is always present and will bring you safely through to your place of victory and peace.

God Bless x