“Jesus knows the suffering that each of us carries, and he knows the genuine pain and sorrow in every heart.”- Ann Swindell
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.”- Psalm 56:8 (NLT)
In Chapter 7 (“When Waiting Feels Like Suffering”) of Still Waiting, Ann Swindell references the suffering of the Bleeding Woman. Ann states that the hardest kind of suffering comes not from the body, but from the spirit. While physical suffering is hard enough, the weight around one’s soul feels impossible to carry. Such suffering renews itself every sunrise.
Furthermore, the waiting itself feels like suffering. In response, the author asks, should you put on your big girl or big boy pants, acting if no problem exists? Ann doesn’t think that’s what Jesus is asking of us.
Therefore, Ms. Swindell believes, Jesus doesn’t minimize our suffering or suggest that we toughen up. Rather, Jesus validates our pain and acknowledges our suffering. Ann explains as she compares Jesus’ response to the Bleeding Woman’s suffering with His response to the death of Jairus’ daughter. The author writes:
“But. But her [Bleeding Woman] suffering was significant to Jesus. He understood that her waiting had been part of her suffering — that the waiting itself had caused her suffering. And that suffering mattered to him. . . . Jesus validated her suffering by stopping for her, by seeking her out. . . . In the face of another person’s death, in fact, he affirmed her search for healing and her faith in his ability to do so. Only Jesus can hold things like this in tandem.”
Thus, regardless of how the word ranks pain, only Jesus sees all pain as real and valid.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you see that Jesus validates the genuine pain and sorrow in your heart? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Jesus deeply affirms our suffering”
