Good morning, Making Space for God friends! Over the weekend I was with a group of friends and our conversation centered around so many sorrowful issues we have been facing in our country. Last week the Las Vegas shooting was the key topic; lives lost, families suffering. I listened to conversations about teenagers who had lost their way, and marriages in stress. I went home thinking, “Lord, what is happening? How do I comfort all these hurting people? ”

And I heard a still small voice– one that I have come to recognize over the years….

“Joanne, I am still here. I have not left them. I long to comfort those who mourn.”

The following morning I read this Scripture in the Message translation:

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used His body to carry our sins to the cross so we could be rid of sin free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. (I Peter 2)

His wounds became our healing. Jesus is the only one who can make things right. He is the only one who can heal us, comfort us because He bore our suffering on the cross. 

One of the issues we face in our upside down world is that fact that our joy is hijacked when we face these crises. The enemy comes to rob, steal and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life and life abundant.

None of us are unfamiliar with sorrow and suffering. If you are living and breathing, you have experienced sorrow. I, too, am not unfamiliar with the pain of loss and heartbreak. In one year both of my sister-in-laws died– one with a 5-month-old baby. The pain for the family was intense.

But God…

Sent His only son and His wounds became our healing. He carried our suffering on the cross and He is the only One who can carry our sorrow and restore our joy. 

Friends, life’s pain can steal our joy but our hope is in the Lord. He offers us peace amidst our storms, and assurance and security that we are gripped in His arms. He is the eye of any storm you may be in. I have found that in the midst of suffering, there is a deep well to draw from in Christ. His well of hope never goes dry. His storehouse of joy never goes empty. The key is to make space for Jesus so that when the crisis hits you find your peace internally knowing that nothing can snatch you from His hand.

Take a few moments and close your eyes. Listen to this song and let the words sink in: Earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t heal.