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Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
(Psalm 22:11)
[The Lord] has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
(Psalm 22:24)
New Beginnings
The things you've been forced to live through
have left you used-up,
weak,
and lost.
You've been the victim
But don't give up.
God
is a God of new beginnings.
This is God
whose compassionate power healed the sick
and even restored the dead
can bring new life
to your tired, trampled-on, homeless soul.
In a broken-down world
of closed doors
and dead ends,
he
can give you
the fresh start you need.
[God] gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will Renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:29-31)
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation;
the old has gone,
the new has come!
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
No Matter What
No matter what you've gone through,no matter who's done what to you,
God's love can heal you.
Pain and ugliness come in many different forms
through many different people,
and much of the pain that is forced into our lives
is senseless and unfair.
So many things that we have no control over
seem to have the power
to steal our dreams,
ruin our plans,
and drain us of the joy and normalcy
that most people take for granted.
But God's love
is stronger
deeper
bigger
than anything
in this world, this life.
He can restore us
no matter where we are
or how we hurt.
In the face of your suffering,
in the heart of your pain,
reach out to believe
that
his love can free you,
and his grace can change you-
no matter what.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
(Ephesians 3:16-19)
For I am convinced
that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither the height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation
will be able to separate us from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
You grant [me}relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not reject his people;
he will never forsake his inheritance...Unless the Lord had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, "My foot is slipping,"
your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
(Psalm 94:13-19)
Doubt and Trust
- Where was God
- when I was being hurt?
- I cried out to him every day -
- didn't he hear me?
- Didn't he care?
- How could he let my suffering go on?
- How could he leave me alone?
- I cried out to him every day -
Your doubts about God are real.
And God
knows them...
Don't be afraid to express yourself to God.
He will not be shocked
by the fierceness of your angerIn fact, he's had all those feelings himself.
or be the depth of your despair.
He will listen to your struggles
and show you the way
back to strength.
God understands
In the midst of all your apprehensions
you can slowly learn
to reach out to him.
It's OK
to doubt him
and trust him
at the same time.
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,...
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
(Matthew 27:46)
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long, will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me.
(Psalm 13)
Numbness
No words could describe the injuries that scar youinside and out.
Even if you could talk about them
you wouldn't.
This heavy numbness is your only protection
from memories
and fears
and a horror that doesn't even seem quite real
anymore
Maybe your cloak of darkness
keeps you from reaching out to God -
Have you given up talking to him
because you don't know what to say?
Don't worry about the words.
When all you have is the numbness
around your pain,
God's Spirit helps you.
He endures your struggles
and senses your feelings,
and actually does your praying for you,
expressing the hurts you can't bear to feel
and pleading to God on your behalf.
The Spirit [of God] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
(Romans 8:26-27)
Help for the Helpless
Are you the victim of someone else's angeror addiction
or feelings of inadequacy?
Have you been trapped into dependence on someone
who takes advantage of you
again and again?
Maybe your reality is made up of
lies and broken promises
and no-win situations,
and the only way you ever feel
is
helpless.
To make matters worse,
even friends
can't understand why you don't just do something
about your problems.
The self-reliance and independence they take for granted
and confused by your powerlessness.
In trying to offer help and advice,
they only make you feel even more
overwhelmed
You are not to blame
for the hurts others cause you.
Try to keep believing
that there is
a way out.
Those who trust in God are never helpless.
I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip -
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
(Psalm 121:1-4)
I can do everything
through him who gives me strength.
(Philippians 4:13)
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
He lies in waith like a lion in cover;
he lies in waith to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
His victims are cursed,they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
He says to himself, "God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees."
But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
your are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account
for his wickedness that would not be found out.
The Lord is King forever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
(Psalm 10:1-2,5-11,14-18)
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