Oakwood Church Fresh Start Women's Devotional Encouragement for Today Hartland Delafield

Gut-Wrenching
By Lexi Cole Ellis

For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Psalm 44:25-26 (ESV)

Not every minute, not every day, but interspersed in life are those moments where the only words to describe them is  that our very soul is hurt…and the only feeling we can think to call them is gut-wrenching. A death of someone too soon…an unexpected change…a tragedy…a betrayal…a something that feels like it’s too much to handle, that leaves us unsure if we’re ever going to heal from it.

And yet, God enters the gut-wrenching-ness with us. In fact, our God is pretty familiar with a gut-wrenching type of feeling. What Jesus endured on the cross was the epitome of gut-wrenching, physically and spiritually. And Scripture is pretty clear that being a follower of God doesn’t automatically mean the gut-wrenching-ness goes away or we become exempt from it.

I don’t want to negate that these moments can be miserable. But I do know that often the gut-wrenching moments end up being opportunities for us to draw closer to God in the midst of suffering. In Psalm 31:22, David honestly confesses, “For I said in my alarm, ‘I am cut off from your sight,’ But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help” (ESV).

Additionally, there’s the promise in Scripture that these moments are not forever. Revelation is filled with this truth and Psalm 40:2 says, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure” (ESV). Similarly, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29, ESV).

 It also can be an opportunity for the Church to be the Church and the active tangible, extended love of Christ.  Over and over again, Paul, Peter and John write letters to the newly formed Church reminding them to love others, to be known by their love and their actions for others.

Maybe you’re in a gut-wrenching moment right now…maybe there’s one you’re still healing from…maybe someone you love is walking through it. Whatever the timeline, may your heart know that our God has experienced these moments, never leaves us in these moments, promises they are not forever, and calls us to surround and comfort others.

GOING DEEPER:

1.    Think of previous gut-wrenching moments, how did you “see” God at work, despite the really challenging circumstances?

2. Think of someone you love who is walking through a gut-wrenching moment. What specific, tangible thing can you do to “be the Church” to that person today?

FURTHER READING:
Isaiah 53:4-6; Isaiah 41:10; Revelation 21:4

Lexi and her husband, Andrew, have an adorable dog named Calvin and are expecting their first child in June 2018. She teaches sixth grade Reading & Writing, serves with Children’s Ministries, and is the Fresh Start Coordinator.