“That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
A Letter to My Suffering Friend-Part 1
This letter is meant to uplift the broken and bring healing to the wounded.
To my suffering friend,
You feel broken, hurting, alone and full of fear. Your pain is too much to bear. Your heart has sunk into your chest. Your mind is broken beyond repair. You think you are a failure, a reject, unloved and without hope. There’s a hole in your chest from the loss you feel. Can I tell you, I’ve been there. We all suffer. And that is OK!! There is hope and there is healing. Although it feels like it’s too much to bear right now, there will come relief as you lean on Jesus and use his means of grace to heal. This doesn’t make your pain easy to bear, but it gives hope as you walk through the valley.
Lean on Jesus
Jesus is ready to love you, to hold you in his grace-filled arms. He said this in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.” The loving command is come and the result is rest, peace for your soul. As you hurt the Healer is standing close by, willing and ready to pick up the pieces, fix what’s broken and give you fresh hope. Lamentations 3:22-23 says this, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Today, make the choice to lean on Jesus no matter how crummy you feel. Sometimes that’s all you can do is lean on Him. I remember when I was in the hospital suffering from life-crippling depression during my senior year of high school, over ten years ago. All I could do was pray “Lord, help me.” I prayed this over and over again. My mind was completely broken, my heart was empty and my hope was thin. But through the great pain, God was there. Through the thoughts of death and constant pain, somewhere in the abyss of my mind, deep down was hope. I wrote a song called In the Valley upon recovering from the two week hospital stay. It was the hardest time of my life. I learned during that circumstance to Lean on Jesus. No matter how I felt, he was there holding and molding me to be more like Him. Though my world was dark and broken, Jesus held me with strong hands, never letting me fall from His grip of grace. Clinging to Jesus steadies the ship of our despair. When we experience a sudden loss, fight a diagnosis, endure a financial loss, shattered dream or loss of a loved one, we can trust Christ because he suffered as we have and did not sin (see Hebrews 4:15-16). Again, our pain is never easy and compassion is essential to help those who are hurting. May I offer some hope to you? I am praying for you. Don’t hesitate to contact me. Know above all, that God loves you, knows your pain and is ready to help you as you turn to Him for healing. Your friend in Christ,
Steve
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