Agape Counseling Center Articles

He Sees Our Pain

May 17, 2006

Don Mellor

Recently, I counseled a single Christian who said that she doesn't feel good enough to begin a new relationship with a man. She hears repeating thoughts that say, "who would want You? Ugly? Old? Fat? He'd be bored and sick of you soon anyway. Who are you to dream again? Here was my response:
He sees our pain. He feels our hurts. He knows our hearts. And He cares! It is okay to be angry, especially for a good cause. I am proud of you for thinking through options before deciding on a course of action. Remember that we never have permission to be less that Christian for any reason. It is when we feel the lowest- that 's when we are ready to receive God's comfort. Let Him in and bring peace, even when "the tempest is raging and the billows are tossing high."
The LORD himself was not pleasant to look at. "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:2-5)
Jesus the Messiah is familiar with suffering and rejection. He identifies with us when we suffer and are rejected.
We are like a fragrant flower to God. We must remember that, no matter what others may think of us, or even whatever we may think of ourselves. God looks upon us as, "the aroma of Christ to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing" ( 2 Cor. 2:15). It make no difference if you are a daffodil or a rose. You are a sweet fragrance to God when you do His will.
Remember Romans 12:3, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." So we shouldn't think of ourselves too low, or too high. God has given us a measure of faith, and He wants us to think of ourselves according to that measure. Your faith grows as you learn to lean on, depend on, and trust in God. He will see you through difficult situations, difficult choices, and difficult decisions. Think of yourself with that measure of faith and with the potential that God works through you to accomplish all things, "according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Also remember that the LORD has plans for you, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer. 29:11). The LORD sees our pain. The LORD feels our suffering and rejection. The LORD gives us faith to keep going forward in the Lord. I believe in you.

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