My Pain is His Pain

At church we have been going through the sermon on the mount for months. I don't remember if it started before or after Nathaniel died, but every single week it's something that I need to hear. This past Sunday the sermon was on Matthew 7:7-11.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Our pastor said something that stuck with me. He said that if we are God's children that our pain is His pain. He knows it, He feels it, and it hurts Him. I had never before thought that what I am going through now is painful to God too. It helps to know that He hurts for me and with me. That doesn't mean He is going to take the pain away. I don't know that I would really want Him to anyway.

(If you would like to listen to the message, they are recorded each week and put on the church's website. You should be able to listen to it online soon.)