The Armchair Journalist Podcast Episode 1
Are You Hurting?
Welcome to the Armchair Journalist podcast. I'm Thom Reaves. Today I want to ask you a question:
Are you hurting right now? We all experience pain throughout our lives. It's a fact of life and simply put, we have to find a way to deal with it. There are different kinds of pain, from Physical pain, to mental pain to emotional pain.
Sometimes physical pain knocks us out and puts us out of commission. Something as small as a toothache can ruin our day then there is the physical pain of diseases and illnesses like cancer or AIDS. The hurting is unbearable.
Sometimes in depression You are hurting so bad you can't stop crying. You cry so hard; a cry from the depths of your soul. A gutwrenching, uncontrollable weeping. Then there is the pain you feel at the death of a loved one. There is a hole left in your soul when you lose somebody you love. If you have experienced any of these things you know the toll it takes on your body and your mind.
Physical hurting and emotional hurting, we have to deal with it, but how do we deal with it? How do we make it through when we are just on the edge of giving up, ready to let the pain consume us? We grab ahold of the Lord and hold on for our lives. No, let me retract that statement. We can hold on to the Lord, but not for dear life because the Lord has grabbed ahold of you first and no matter if you hold onto him tightly or even let go, he will not let go of you. Isaiah. 43:1-3 says
But now O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, "Do not be afraid for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through the deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I have never lived with physical, chronic pain, but I have lived with pain mentally and emotionally and you know, there is such a weight lifted when someone is there with you as you are going through it. The Lord promises to be there with you. You don't have to deal with your hurting alone.
There was a woman by the name of Annie Johnson Flint. She was orphaned as a child and during her life pain threatened to take her life and her joy away. She lost her sight, she contracted rheumatoid arthritis all through her body, then cancer. But Annie had put her trust in the only one who could carry her through, the Lord Jesus. As her body was wracked with the hurt of disease, she wrote this poem that you may know as a hymn. It is called, He giveth more grace and goes like this:
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources Our Father's full giving is only begun.
Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
Though we may have to contend with physical hurting or emotional or mental hurting, the Lord will give you his provision; his strength and his grace - and he will uphold you. I know it sometimes may feel unbearable, but The Lord will carry you, like a child who falls down and scrapes his knees, The Lord will pick you up and hold you and let you know it will be alright. Even though your knees still hurt, the Father's loving arms surround you and make it better. He makes it better by the physical healing of your body and through time. He makes it better by providing people: loved ones and friends, doctors and nurses, and by providing medicines which help our bodies heal or manage our ailments. But most of all God provides himself who is always with you in your hurt. Put your trust in him today, won't you?
Thank you for joining me on the The Armchair Journalist podcast. I'm Thom Reaves. And remember, speak Good Things.
Copyright 2022 Thom Reaves
