Waiting for Grace

God’s love never changes. Regardless of the suffering we’re experiencing and the change that swirls around us, we can rest in the constancy of his love. Our suffering doesn’t translate to an absence of his love or presence. In fact, he draws near to the broken hearted. Romans tells us, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (8:35).

Think about the parent of a child who’s suffering and in pain. Does the parent pull away? No, the parent draws close and showers their love on the child. Scripture confirms this. “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV). He lifts those who are falling, and sometimes under the weight of suffering, we do fall. He, however, catches us because he loves and cares for us. His awareness of our loss, pain, questions, doubt, fear, and loneliness knows no limit.

True love involves commitment, and it’s the love our Father has for us. His investment in us shows itself in the death of Christ on the cross. He never abandons his work, and we are the work of his hands. How much another person can bear with us in our suffering knows its limit, but not so with Jesus. No weight or pain is too great for him to bear. When there are no words, his love hears our heartbeat.

The Lord fills our hearts with comfort and hope in the darkest trials of life. It won’t make sense in the natural way of thinking, but his love gives birth to peace in our hearts. No matter how intense the pain, his love can’t be snuffed out. His love is not detached, as though it were a distant phenomenon. We can throw ourselves on the mercy and love of God with confidence.

Suffering makes us weary. Elijah, a prophet in the Old Testament, had just won a victory with the defeat of the false prophets, but following a threat on his life, he ran. He’s found under a juniper tree asking the Lord to take his life. He then slept and ate and slept and ate some more. The Lord had compassion on him and gave him the rest and nourishment he needed. Sometimes a good night’s rest boosts our strength enough to go on. Elijah heard the whisper of God’s voice; we too may hear his whisper. He knows our fragile state, and he responds with tenderness.