Tenth Avenue North – “We Won’t Numb The Pain” (Devotional)

2 Corinthians 1:4; Psalm 62:5,8

When our hearts are breaking, don’t we all tend toward numbing the pain, instead of dealing with it? We don’t “pour our hearts out to the Lord,” we rant on our Instagram. When we’re tempted and restless, we don’t wait in the wilderness, we reach for the lowest-hanging fruit.

And so, we miss out on the very comfort we’re looking for. The Holy Spirit never even has a chance to heal our deepest wounds, because we won’t slow down long enough to even know they’re there.

I remember the first time I actually let God comfort me. When I was dating my wife in just a few weeks, we broke up. It was the first time I recall truly waiting for the comfort of Christ. I didn’t do what I had always done. I didn’t distract myself with entertainment, didn’t try to quickly get over her by dating someone else, and didn’t numb the pain. Instead, for ten days or so, I drove my car to a field behind my house every night around sunset. I pulled up to the edge of the field, cranked some worship tunes, opened the windows, climbed up out onto the roof, and proceeded to cry my face off. Yeah, I know…Real men cry.

And you know what happened? Nothing at first. But slowly, over hours and days and then weeks, I began to feel a steadiness in my soul. There was a peace gradually moving in on my soul. Was I still heartbroken? Absolutely. Was I still an emotional mess? You bet. But over time, I began to understand what Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 1:4. There was a comfort knowing Christ suffered with me. There was a relief when I cried out to Him. Even when I didn’t necessarily feel like He even said anything, there was a certainty I felt knowing I had given Him the chance to.

So my friends, pour out your heart to Him. He can take it. After all, He knows you better than you know yourself. You can’t surprise Him. You can’t shock Him. So… Run to Him. Rant to Him. Complain to Him. Cry out to Him. Wrestle with Him. Wait on Him.

He will hear, come, and comfort.

We want the cure, not the medication.