Comfort in suffering
by Sal Huckel
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Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7a).
Have you ever gone through a time of intense suffering or injustice, felt isolated, and found the well-meaning words of those around you only compound the pain? If not, bookmark this psalm – you’ll need it at some point.
The words and emotions of the psalms are so real. They don’t beat around the bush. All Scripture is God-breathed, and these difficult verses are there, whether we want to read them in ‘polite company’ or not. Suffering isn’t neat and tidy. Sometimes Scriptures are even censored for public worship. I discovered this at school when we looked up verses that we heard were deliberately omitted from evensong psalms.
But here, this is my kind of comfort! No need for the psalmist to censor their pain. The comfort names the pain and encourages and exhorts at the same time. We are assured our suffering will not be forever – but the pain is acknowledged. Sometimes, yes, the evil will succeed in their ways and wicked schemes. Yet, there are still exhortations to refrain from anger, remain meek, and enjoy peace and prosperity in the stronghold of the Lord.
If you’re suffering right now and your friends’ attempts to comfort you bring you pain, and it feels as though your pain is being minimised, explained away, or made to feel you are exaggerating, remember Job. His friends got it wrong. Sometimes our friends can be ‘Job’s friends’. But here, we have the psalmist, sitting with us in our sadness, as the Lord does – acknowledging yet exhorting also.
A week of comfort from all over the Bible. We need to take comfort from the Lord, not from earthly attempts to fix. Some of our pain will not end on this earth. Pray for the spiritual endurance we need to run the race and get to the finish line and for the wisdom and comfort to bring to others that we can only do in his strength.
Where there is despair in life, let me bring hope; where there is sadness, let me bring joy; may I seek to console with your words and your truth. Give me your heart for others, and when I need that consolation and comfort, Lord, bring me the right person to sit with me until I find my healing and deliverance in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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