The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17
My dear hurting woman of God. Know that you are not alone in your suffering, and in the deep longing in your heart.
God sees you.
He hears your cries.
He is moved with compassion on your behalf.
He is moving behind the scenes and this “moving” will also manifest from the hidden to the visible in your life.
He will bless, answer, and work miracles if need be.
There are 3 portions of Scripture that came alive to me about 3 women in the Bible with anguish of heart who God saw, heard, and then moved with compassion for.
The first story is in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus performs a miracle resurrection!
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
Soon afterward, Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Luke 7:11-15 New Living Translation (NLT) (My emphasis on the bolded and underlined portions.)
Look at those underlined portions and see the compassion of Jesus–our Savior, our Redeemer and our Rescuer!
He saw. He heard. He was moved.
And now let’s look at Hannah and Leah.
Hannah was loved by her husband but she was childless. To have a child was the greatest desire of her heart and her soul was in great anguish over this. Even though her husband loved her, he simply could not understand or empathize with her deep pain and grieving in regard to her childlessness. In fact, he had the gall to say to her: “Why are you crying? Am I not more than enough for you–even than having 10 sons?” (my paraphrase but very close! see 1 Samuel 1:8)
Oh puh-leeeeeeze! Every time I read this scripture I get an uncontrollable eyeroll and head shaking reflex going that’s hard to stop! What arrogance, narcissism, and heartlessness of this man!
Hannah had to “pull herself together” and go to the only One who would understand and the only One who could do something about her plight. God! And so she did. And she later gave birth to Samuel. (Read the full story in 1 Samuel 1).
God saw Hannah. God heard Hannah. God was moved with compassion.
He answered her prayer with a miracle child.
And now Leah.
Leah with “the weak eyes” and the stunningly beautiful younger sister, Rachel. Rachel…who had a man, Jacob, passionately in love with her—enough to willingly work 7 whole years so that he could marry her. And while he was laboring for Rachel, Leah never married. Apparently no one was interested.
Leah’s father came up with a plan for his 2 daughters and future son-in-law. A deceitful, hurtful plan. He tricked Jacob into marrying Leah. Most of us have heard this story many times. (Genesis 29).
But have you ever put yourself in Leah’s shoes? Have you noticed the anguish of her heart as she produced 4 sons to a man who did not love her? A man who had sex with her but still did not love her? A man who doted on and cherished her sister? His OTHER WIFE!!!
Can you imagine the hurt she must have felt as each time she conceived and carried and gave birth to this man’s, Jacob’s, sons, he didn’t seem to even notice? Let alone care? We know this because of what Leah said after the birth of her first 3 sons—“ …maybe NOW my husband will notice me, will love me.”
But by the 4th son we see a definite shift in focus for dear unloved Leah. (Unloved by a man—her husband.)
She puts her focus on God! GOD!
The One enabling her to have these sons.
The One who created HER!
The God of Love who loves as no man can.
She begins to praise and give thanks to Him!
As did Hannah.
As should we.
Though the emotional pain will remain because we are human beings longing to be loved by others with the God-kind of love, more often than not, it won’t happen. We will experience hurt and pain in our human relationships.
But this pain can be converted into a great blessing because we can go to the Source of Love that never ends. The Love that is eternal and that is so wide and deep and vast that it is beyond description.
A Love we don’t have to earn or try to keep. It is there for us. HE is there for us. Always.
Although it isn’t easy to do, we must keep our focus on Him.
And we must love others with His Love and strength.
And we must do our work and service for HIM.
And our reward will come back to us–FROM HIM!
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24
Jesus spoke to those who suffer and are persecuted. For those who mourn, are meek, pure of heart, merciful, and peacemakers. Those character traits we rarely see or contemplate anymore and aren’t highly esteemed in our culture of achievements, brazenness, and endless acquisition of…STUFF!
But Jesus taught that these were the most blessed traits to have.
The Beatitudes.
And just what is a “beatitude.” This is the online definition that I just read:
Beatitude: supreme blessedness.
synonyms: blessedness • benediction • grace • bliss • ecstasy • exaltation • supreme happiness • divine joy • divine rapture • saintliness (holiness, selflessness)
Ummm….yes, please! I would like ALL of that!
You know what? I’ve never even looked up the definition of that word! If I HAD, I might’ve been more excited about wholeheartedly submitting to the temporal sufferings and sacrifices that ultimately produce the blessings that Jesus sets forth.
Here they are:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”Matthew 5:3-10
I hope that reading about these hurting women—the widow who lost her only son, childless Hannah, and unloved Leah—will give you renewed hope and strength to look to Jesus for all that you could ever want or need—in this life on earth and for an eternity with Him.
I am not saying that any of us should EVER be a doormat or endure extreme abuse. But if you continue to live a godly life, and in the right time and way confront in love those who are hurting you or treating you unfairly and you are still treated wrongly—look to Jesus.
Read these blessings put forth in the beatitudes.
And trust Him to either move you out of the situation, move upon the person to change who is persecuting you unfairly, or receive the supernatural peace and spiritual blessings that pass all understanding!
Priceless gifts beyond measure.
Don’t lose heart. Don’t grow weary in doing good for you SHALL receive a harvest–a HARVEST– of blessings if you don’t give up!
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
I highly recommend taking the time to do a contemplative study of the Beatitudes (reading commentaries? your own study?)
To study more about the Beatitudes, I found the following commentary at JesusChristSavior.net I didn’t do a thorough research on the entire site but I did like what was said about the Beatitudes here. I made a couple of minor edits.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“Poor in spirit” means to be humble. Humility is the realization that all your gifts and blessings come from the grace of God. To have poverty of spirit means to be completely empty and open to the Word of God. When we are an empty cup and devoid of pride, we are humble. Humility brings an openness and an inner peace, allowing one to do the will of God. He who humbles himself is able to accept our frail nature, to repent, and to allow the grace of God to lead us to conversion.
It is pride, the opposite of humility, that brings misery. For pride brings anger and the seeking of revenge, especially when one is offended. If every man were humble and poor in spirit, there would be no war!
“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.“
If we are humble and appreciate that all of our gifts and blessings come from God, we grow in love and gratitude for Jesus Christ our Savior. But this can only produce mourning and regret over our own sins and the sins of this world, for we have hurt the one who has been so good to us. One also mourns for the suffering of others.
St. Gregory describes another reason to mourn: the more one ascends in meditation of Divine Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, and then realize the poverty of human nature, man can only be left in sorrow. When one contemplates that we were made in the image and likeness of God and lived in Paradise, the Garden of Eden, and compare that to our present state after the Fall, one can only mourn our present condition. But the sentence continues that they shall be comforted, by the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and hopefully one day in the Kingdom of Heaven. Pray for the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Mourning in this context is called a blessing, because mourning our fallen nature creates in us a desire to improve ourselves and to do what is right!
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
St. Gregory of Nyssa taught that the Beatitudes build one upon another. A humble person becomes meek, or becomes gentle and kind, and exhibits a docility of spirit, even in the face of adversity and hardship. A person that is meek is one that exhibits self-control. St. Augustine advises us to be meek in the face of the Lord, and not resist but be obedient to him. Obedience and submission to the will of God are certainly not in vogue these days, but they will bring one peace in this world and in the next.
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Justice and righteousness in the New Covenant indicate the fulfillment of God’s will in your heart and soul. It is not mere observance of the law (Matthew 5:20), but rather an expression of brotherly love (I John 3:10). A continuous desire for justice and moral perfection will lead one to a fulfillment of that desire – a transition and conversion to holiness. This is true for all the virtues – if you hunger and thirst for temperance, you will head towards the goal you have in mind. St. Augustine called the Beatitudes the ideal for every Christian life! In his discourse on the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, he noted the correspondence of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and their necessity in fulfilling the Beatitudes. For example, one must have the gift of fortitude so one may be courageous in seeking social justice.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Mercy is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress. Love, compassion, and forgiveness towards one’s neighbor will bring peace in your relationships. We say in the Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. As we are merciful to others, so our Heavenly Father will be merciful with us! Jesus reminds us that whatever “you did to the least of my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:31-46).” St. Paul calls for the obedience of faith in the beginning and end of his Letter to the Romans (1:5, 16:25-27). The following are ways to be merciful to your neighbor as well as to be obedient in faith to Christ our Savior.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
1 Feed the Hungry
2 Give drink to the thirsty
3 Clothe the naked
4 Shelter the homeless
5 Comfort the imprisoned
6 Visit the sick
7 Bury the dead
The Spiritual Works of Mercy
1 Admonish sinners
2 Instruct the uninformed
3 Counsel the doubtful
4 Comfort the sorrowful
5 Be patient with those in error
6 Forgive offenses
7 Pray for the living
“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”
Moses (Exodus 33:20), John 1:18, and Paul (I Timothy 6:16) all say that no one can see God here on earth! But Jesus says the pure of heart shall see God! To be pure of heart means to be free of all selfish intentions and self-seeking desires. What a beautiful goal! How many times have any of us performed an act perfectly free of any personal gain? Such an act is pure love. An act of pure and selfless giving brings joy to all.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
Jesus gives us peace – “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). Peace is also a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Peacemakers not only live peaceful lives but also try to bring peace and friendship to others, and to preserve peace between God and man. But one cannot give another what one does not possess oneself. Praying for peace will help change your heart. The Lord wants you first to be filled with the blessings of peace and then to pass it on to those who have need of it. By imitating God’s love of man, the peacemakers become children of God.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The biblical passage continues to elaborate: “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. “If they persecute me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20-21). Before his conversion, Saul persecuted the early Church in Jerusalem, which scattered the Christians throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). St. Peter advised “Whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name” (I Peter 4:16).
SONGS THAT MINISTER AND HEAL
Cry Out To Jesus ~ Third Day
To everyone who’s lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
When you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there’s nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that’s struggling just to hang on
They’ve lost all of their faith in love
And they’ve done all they can to make it right again, still it’s not enough
For the ones who can’t break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you’re not alone in your shame
And your suffering
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
When you’re lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
And for the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
And love for the broken heart
And there is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He’ll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus
Cry out to Jesus