“As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you …” (Isaiah 66:13)
Children are not shy about how they feel. When they are happy, they let you know it; the same when they are unhappy. We expect grown-ups to do a better job at hiding their emotions. If an adult expresses how hurt they are by something they might hear: “Stop being such a baby;” or, “You are way too sensitive.”
And so, because there’s a stigma attached to showing too much emotion, we learn how to put on a brave face even when we’re reeling inside. We say we’re “good,” even when we’re not. To some extent, we all learn how to be good actors. We pretend things don’t faze us, when they do. Outwardly, we play the part of an adult, but inwardly we’re crying like a baby.
Oh, to have someone we can let it all out to! Someone who will not shame us for being hurt. Someone who will listen with a sympathetic ear, not judging us for how we feel, offering us both comfort and good advice. Woe to those who have no one who can be such a refuge and help. Truth be told, such human beings are extremely hard to find.
We need comfort in all our tribulation. We need the arms of an understanding and kind parent.
But where man fails us, God is always available. He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. (Pr. 18:24) He is the brother who is born for adversity. (Pr. 17:17) We can take all our deepest hurts to Him, the ones we’re embarrassed to admit to others, and pour them out to Him. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.” (Ps. 62:8) The Lord understands pain better than anyone else, not only because God Himself has emotions, but because He suffered all we can suffer as a human being. “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief …” (Isa. 53:3)
Painful events don’t disappear from our life when we get older; no, they increase and intensify. In their aftermath, we resort to all kinds of ineffective, coping mechanisms. We need comfort in all our tribulation. We need the arms of an understanding and kind parent. We need God. He will not castigate us for feeling pain. He invites us to come to Him and share it all, and receive from Him the healing we so desperately need.
Don’t suffer alone. When no one else knows, let the Lord know all about it. You can be a little child before Him. Through all the pain you face, He will help you to grow up in Him.