Do you really have everything you need? Shelly says we do.
“I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul” (Psalm 31:7).
I’d like someone to fix it, but it’s not really a need. If someone could make it all just go away, I’d love that, but I don’t really need it.
All I really need is for someone to see me. I need someone to care. Just to listen, hug, cry with me and not at me.
The NLT version puts it this way:
“I will be glad and rejoice in Your unfailing love, for You have seen my troubles, and You care about the anguish of my soul.”
This verse reminds me why, even in this painful place, I can be glad. Why, even in the deepest valleys, I can rejoice.
Because His love is unfailing. Un. Failing. It never fails, no matter the challenge faced. It never fails.
Because He sees my troubles. He notices each bruised feeling and tender place. He recognizes even the wounds I think I’m so good at hiding. He can gaze past my plastered on smile.
Because He cares about the anguish of my soul. The anguish. . . oh yes, there is anguish there, gumming up the works. And He cares.
Not just about the hurts of my physical body, or the aching losses I feel in the heart. . . but all the way down to my very soul.
The soul He fashioned and formed and knows full-well.
The soul He unfailingly loved enough to face the cross.
The soul He sees as a bright beacon when it’s truthfully black as night and marred with scars.
I will be glad and rejoice. Because I have all I need.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being all that I need, for offering Yourself in that way, for loving me that much. Help me never to forget. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
About the author:
Shelly Hendricks is a wife and mother of 2 amazing kids. She was a teacher and a librarian in another life. She also suffers from Intracranial Hypertension, Interstitial Cystitis, and Essential Tremor. She had brain surgery in 2012 and now considers herself to be a ‘bionic woman’ who is learning to walk again. Disability has been hard to deal with, but she depends on God for all strength and hopes to encourage others on this journey, through her blog at http://reneweddaily.com
In what ways does He remind you that He sees and He cares?
It can be hard to be still, can’t it? To just know who He is and how much He loves us? If you are struggling today with wondering how people really feel God’s presence when life is so chaotic, take a moment to just sit and listen to this song that Shelly shares with you, “Be Still My Soul” with Selah.
Take a few minutes to just sit at His feet, even if it is here at your computer screen and ask Him to help you be still. It is okay to pray for the ability to feel His presence! -Lisa
Chronic Illness Pain Daily Devotionals 