Jesus Will: A Devotional on His Comfort and Care

When times are tough, we sometimes think that we need to stay strong for everyone around us. We think that we must ‘get over’ a situation, move on. If we dare to consider that we might allow our emotions to be unravelled, the reality of the situation will hit us. That can be a frightening thought, facing the reality of a situation, but sometimes we must walk through it. Thankfully we are never on our own.

There is a place for self-control, to allow us to function in each day and press on, so we are not drawn down to a black hole of miserable self-pity. A place to consider the needs of those around us, and how they might be affected by our responses. However, we also need to make room to allow healing to take place and not become trapped in despair or pretend that we can manage alone.

I know that when I press into Jesus and ask Him to guide me towards the blinding light of His glory, He brings freedom. Not just freedom that shuts the door on my emotions, but freedom that gives me space to allow my emotions to run free, to allow my wounds to be healed with Jesus by my side, not trying to heal in my own strength. Jesus will surround me with the right people, who have the right words.

‘Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.’ Proverbs 16:24

Jesus will go deep into my heart and reveal to me areas that I didn’t even know needed healing. Jesus will gently lead me and bless me with His perfect peace. Jesus will comfort me and surround me with His angels. Jesus will protect me from situations that could hinder my healing. Jesus will give me wisdom to help me respond in the right way when I might feel like screaming, and then sometimes he’ll give me space to scream, to allow the feeling within to be released, to have a heart that says I can’t do this anymore. In those times, Jesus will pick me up and carry me to where He knows I need to rest. Jesus will do this for all His children.

When I fully surrender to Jesus, I take my eyes off my circumstances and direct my eyes on the one who loves me more than I could ever understand, the one who wants to comfort me and heal me. My Father in Heaven.

We need family and friends, people we can trust, those who give us a safe space to share how we feel to release some of our burdens and gather in prayer. We can’t just ignore how we feel, forget it all, leave those open wounds and move on.

There are different stages a wound must go through for it to heal well. Over time, the edges of the wound will eventually come together. Sometimes there is a scar. The complexity of the wound will usually determine the time it takes for the edges to come together.

If we don’t give the wounds the proper care it needs, it will break down even further, and could become infected, which can lead to even more complications that can affect the rest of the body. The wound won’t be able to go through the stages it needs to heal well.

I see it like this, if we move on from a situation in our lives that has caused us grief before we’ve had time to process our hurt, we won’t go through the stages of healing that we were meant to. These stages are PAINFUL. Nobody wants to go through them. If someone is telling us to ‘move on’, we are given a reason to think that we are overreacting or thinking too much about ourselves.

Going through a situation instead of ‘getting over’ is scary. It takes time, and to be honest, it can be very inconvenient for our lives! WHO wants to choose to face that hurt, that pain?

Many years ago, I went on an outdoor activities weekend trip with a friend. It was a trip full of adventure! On one occasion we went caving. Those gaps in the cave were so tight, and the water was absolutely freezing! At one point I was afraid I’d never get through. I had to squeeze through this hole, climb down another, slide my way under what they called ‘a letter box’. The rock was slippery, cold, and wet.

At one point, I had to lay on my back and be pulled through a very narrow gap by my feet whilst freezing cold water trickled down my back. Did I panic, too right I did! Did I get through the other side and out into the light again, without injury, yes! I went through it all and with the help of friends cheering me on, I came out the other side.

When I went through a miscarriage, I felt guilty for feeling emotional about it. Many women don’t open up about their miscarriage, and that is very personnel, completely understood, but that’s not me. I remember seeing a mum with a new-born baby just after I’d found out that our baby had died. I just burst into tears. I felt awful for the mother standing there. I felt guilty for being emotional.

We are allowed to grieve, we are allowed to go through the processes of healing that we need to go through, we shouldn’t look at how quickly one person has moved through a situation and think that should be us too. We shouldn’t tell ourselves that others are in worse off situations than us so we shouldn’t be feeling the way we feel.

If a wound is left open, without the proper care it needs to heal, if we miss the stages it needs to bring those edges together, there will be repercussions. They’ll keep breaking down.

Thankfully God made each of His children unique, and our circumstances are different, but, God knows our needs and we can ask Him how he is going to take us through our own journey in healing however long that might take.

‘He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:3