The Lord your God is with you . . .
he will quiet you with his love.
—Zephaniah 3:17
Madeleine L’Engle somewhere told of a rabbi who was approached by a devoted disciple . . .
“My master,” he exulted, “I love you!”
The old teacher asked, “Do you know what hurts me, my son?”
The student stammered, “Rabbi. I am trying to tell you how much you mean to me, and you confuse me with an irrelevant question.”
“My question is neither confusing nor irrelevant,” said the rabbi, “for if you do not know what hurts me you can’t truly love me.”
The minister who doesn’t know where his people hurt will not minister well.
God knows where you hurt. He loves you, and he cares.
Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
—Frank Graeff
God hears you when you’re hurting.
Even if you’re not saying anything.