God Remembers Your Pain

By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of Vidar Nordii-Mathesen

Then God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided. 

~Genesis 8:1

There is something so comforting to be found in the first four little words of this verse - "then God remembered Noah". By this time, Noah, his family, and all the animals had been on the Ark for weeks upon weeks. They had seen their homeland completely covered over by flood waters, their neighbors' lives lost in the process. They had been hunkered down on this boat for what began to feel like forever, with nothing but water and more water as far as the eye could see. Animals (and all the noise, smells, and chaos they produce at times!) were their only companions, and they likely were beginning to feel a bit of despair, wondering when this world-wide flood would ever be over and they could embark on a new normal. 

Perhaps you can relate. Maybe you are suffering through dark days, carrying a chronic illness with you wherever you go. Maybe your marriage is going under, and you have no hope in sight for it to ever get better. Maybe your current struggle is one of financial limitations or a prodigal child or a baby who won't sleep through the night, and you're feeling as if you are about to lose every last shred of sanity you still possess.

Whatever your current struggle is, maybe you are feeling a bit like Noah and his family may have felt - as if God has forgotten about you and things will never get better. Perhaps you feel as if He has fallen asleep at the wheel or, worse, just doesn't care about you anymore.

May I encourage you today? Don't rely on your feelings, because they are not the source of truth. The source of truth, God's Word, says that the Lord will never leave you or forsake you, that He is near to you and is your help, hope, and strength, that nothing could separate you from the love of God, and that He is currently, right now, working all things together for your good. He hasn't lost control, He hasn't stopped loving you, and He hasn't forgotten about or grown cold towards your struggles. He is near, He is working, and He is loving you all the way. May you rest in that hope today, friend!


Lord, I pray for the woman reading this today. Please help her to remember that You are with her, that You are near, and that You have not forgotten about her pain. Help her to see and believe that You know and remember what she is going through, and that Your heart breaks right along with hers in this season. Help her to look to You and feel Your love, Lord, and help her to have hope and joy for her future, a future that is resting securely in Your loving hands. In Jesus' name, Amen.