|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
I remember vividly looking at the clock on the wall; it was 5 AM. The pain was unbearable. I could barely breathe, and what little strength I had left was quickly leaving my body. The nurse turned towards me and said, “It will still be a couple of hours,” and as my brain tried to make sense of what she said, my body continued to groan in anguish. I was 5 hours into an unmedicated birth, and my body, heart, and soul knew I did not have the strength to endure a few more hours. At that moment, I looked to Heaven and cried out for mercy. Lord, I pleaded, have mercy on me.
If ever there was a time in my life when I needed the Mercy and Grace of God, it was today. As my body and mind were pushed beyond the limit in my distress, frailty, and humanness, I pleaded with the Creator of the Universe to give me mercy. During these moments of distress and weakness, we quickly realize how limited and frail we are. In those hours in the delivery ward, I felt the full weight of my humanness. I was but grass, dirt, smoke, here today and gone tomorrow, and I cried out to Heaven, pleading for help.
When we are desperate and in anguish, when the pain is too much for us to bear, we cry out to a God Enthroned Forever, who is Lord over all, and ask that He would turn towards us. We instinctively know in these vulnerable moments that God is not a far-off, uncaring God. In this pain, we gain clarity to see Him as Ever-Present, Loving, and Kind.
Easter is the greatest response to our desperate cry. Lost and broken, dead in our sin, we prayed for mercy, and God answered. In our pain and frailty, as our souls groaned, God chose to come face to face with us, meeting us in our distress. Easter reminds us that the God of the Universe hears our cries of desperation and answers us, turning towards us with a Face full of Love, Compassion, and Mercy.
Prayer:
Lord, have mercy on me, hear me when I cry out to You. Remind me, through the Holy Spirit, that You are ever-present and with me in my distress.
“Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea! Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you. For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals. My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite. Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.”
“But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.”
Comment Moderation Notice
Thank you for joining the conversation! To keep discussions respectful and spam-free, your first comment will be held for moderation.
✅ Once your first comment is approved, any future comments will automatically post if you choose to save your name and email for next time.
We appreciate your patience and look forward to your contributions!
3 Responses
Thank you Jesus for the sacrifice you made so that all who believe and accept you are washed by your blood and have the gift of eternal life. In this season of lent draw us closer to you and grow us in our walk with you. We thank you for the good works you will do through us and thank you for giving us our Christian family. We give you our lives and love❤️❤️❤️
The writer felt so bad that he lost his appetite and failed to eat. When we face sickness and despair our days past blindly, and we don’t care about even our basic needs and in these times God alone is our comfort and strength, even when we are too weak to fight we can lean on him. It is often when we recognize our weaknesses that God‘s greatest strength becomes available.
It is when we are at our lowest that we turn to God, knowing there is nowhere else to turn. Help us remember that you are there just as much in good times, Lord.