Healing the Hidden Hurt
Isaiah 61:1 — The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
One weekend recently, I got to help my friend Laura at her daughter Hosanna’s wedding. Hosanna is a girl I adore, and she had me doing all those little wedding details I absolutely love.
There were tables to set up, decorations to arrange, and a hundred other little things. Even a dessert table. And I love doing dessert tables!
But as I stood there working, I realized just how good God really is.
Just a few months earlier, when my son got married, I was supposed to help set up that day too. But at the last minute, I wasn’t allowed to.
And if I’m honest, it hurt so much.
I left that wedding reception in a panic, feeling invisible and unneeded. It was heartbreaking to feel like I was just a name on a birth certificate.
But now, months later, I was standing at another wedding, doing every single thing I had dreamed of doing for someone I love.
And Hosanna had no idea what had happened before. I hadn’t told her my story. She simply asked me to help.
And somewhere between the decorations and that dessert table, I remembered something about God:
He comes near to the brokenhearted.
Isaiah 61 is a beautiful picture of the ministry of Jesus. He came to bring good news, to heal what is broken, to bring freedom where people have been bound by pain, sin, shame, and sorrow.
And sometimes, healing doesn’t happen all at once.
Sometimes God meets us months later, in an ordinary moment, and lets us realize, “Look what I’ve done. Look how I’ve cared for you. Look how I’m restoring something you thought was lost.”
I’m telling you this with tears in my eyes, but they aren’t tears of sadness anymore.
They’ve become tears of joy.
Friend, God sees the hurt you never had the words for.
He knows it. He sees it. And He is not distant from it.
God understands deep, deep agony. He knows what suffering feels like because His own Son, Jesus, willingly went to the cross for you and for me.
And maybe today, there’s a place in your heart you’ve never really talked about with anyone.
Maybe you don’t even know how to put it into words.
But you can bring it to Jesus.
Bring Him the hurt. Bring Him the disappointment. Bring Him the people you love. Bring Him the things you don’t understand.
You may not be able to find all the right words to pray.
But let me tell you something:
He already sees it.
And even more than that…
He cares.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Is there a hurt in your life that you’ve never really had the words to explain to anyone? What would it look like to bring that hurt honestly to Jesus?
- Have you ever experienced a moment when God seemed to bring unexpected healing or restoration to something that had deeply hurt you? What did that moment mean to you?
- Is there a disappointment you’re still carrying because you feel unseen, unwanted, or unneeded? How does it change things to remember that God sees you completely?
- What would it look like today to bring Jesus not only your pain, but also the people you love?
- Where do you need to remember today: “He already sees it, and He cares”?
