I just finished the morning listening to story after story of brokenness. The stories came from men and women who shared their experiences of broken lives. Then they went on to tell of other men, women and children all over the world who have suffered unspeakable pain and anguish.

We are all broken, aren’t we? Some more than others. A fallen world brings sin, pain and suffering. As you reflect on your past, I’m sure there are some pain points. Yet, as believers, we feel like we’re supposed to cover them up and live some magical Christian life.

That’s not why Jesus came. He came for the broken.

Jesus met the woman at the well who had gone through several husbands and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband. Yes, she was living in sin, but did Jesus thrash her for her lifestyle? Sure, he brought it up, but he didn’t shove it in her face.

Instead, he offered her living water. He offered her eternal life. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NIV)

Friend, whether it’s your own doing or your pain has been caused by someone else, Jesus is there for you when you call on him. He heals from the inside out. He draws you to himself, the water. He brings life to your soul.

Isaiah describes Jesus in this prophesy:

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3 ESV)

Jesus knows your grief. He hung on the cross. He was betrayed. He was mocked, tortured, beaten. He was humiliated. Abandoned. He experienced the highest limits of physical, mental and emotional pain. He knows you and he knows your pain. He can relate.

He can also restore. He is your healer when you call on him in prayer. You may feel like God is distant right now because of the pain and abuse you’ve experienced, but he’s waiting for you to speak to him.

Prayer not only opens the lines of communication with God, but it opens the lines of healing. Your healing might take a long time and that’s ok. You’re not on a timer.

Do you need to cry out to God in your pain? This is a prayer from your heart, and it’s your heart that God wants to hear. And heal.

(From my upcoming devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Incredible Prayer. Releasing 2019)