Jesus Wept; The Great Comforter

Currently, I'm experiencing a few difficulties with my health, nothing major, but it has caused me to think a bit. =)

I spent a lot of time at faithwalkers "counting the cost" and giving individual aspects of my life over to the Lord, and I've been tested in quite a few of those areas sooner than I was expecting, but I'll take it! 

(James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.")

To put this post in context I'll just mention that one of the main things that drew me to give my life to the Lord was a lot of pain. I never wanted to make anyone feel the way I felt. 

Than I realized I had been doing to God the very thing that had been done to me that hurt so badly. So this isn't really a new thought, but it's worth expanding upon. =) And it is good to check my own heart to see where my hope is, and where I am focusing.

The Lord's pain is deeper than you or I can imagine. 

Oftentimes I don't even understand the depths of my own emotions; they penetrate deeply into my soul! 

How much greater are the depths of God's heart? I can't even fathom what He must feel, can't even begin to understand the depths of His spirit... The Spirit He chose to place inside of me? Yes. The Spirit He chose to place inside of every Christian!

What a privilege 

When we break for people, and it's hard to understand why, this is why. This is why we feel so deeply, because God feels deeply, and He indwells us! We feel the depth of God's heart within us!

The Lord's heart is full of longing! He knows what it feels like to yearn for someone, to yearn to be close, to want desperately to touch, to want desperately for people to understand His touch!

What a comfort. Our God knows what we feel, and He stands for us, right next to us.

So, when you're in pain...

He knows it all, He feels it all with you. His heart is so connected with yours, He is so enthralled with You that He actually shares and feels your hurt with you..

He'll cradle your face and tell you He is using your circumstances to bring Him glory, and of course He will deliver you! But right now He needs you to receive His grace so other's can see his great, great power!

And ultimately... Isn't that what we all want? For others to see God's faithfulness and power through our lives? For others to be transformed and trust the Lord because they see how real He is?

Does my current comfort really matter in light of that?

My pain, seems so microscopic in light of eternity and what God could be using it for!

Even just one soul added to the Kingdom is worth more pain than could be fit into a single person's life time. 

2 Cor. 4:17 "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."

If we don't endure now, those who don't believe will, in eternal punishment.