READ: PSALM 23; 2 CORINTHIANS 7:5-7

Once again, intense pain had brought me to the emergency room where I waited to be admitted to an upstairs room. Beyond discouraged, I asked the Lord, “Do You still love me?” My depression deepened as one nurse after another poked me with needles and questioned me.

The paramedics had been concerned and caring. At the hospital, the staff seemed determined to add to my suffering. How I longed for someone gentle to care for me. Someone like Annie.

Annie was the friend who had introduced me to my boyfriend. A few days earlier, she had begun her first nursing job in this same hospital.

“Lord Jesus, please fix it that Annie is my nurse.”

It was a crazy prayer. The hospital was large, and I had no idea what department or shift my friend was working. Still, I repeated my prayer until the shots did their work and I fell asleep.

Before I knew it, I was at an upstairs nursing station. A familiar voice nudged me awake. Opening my eyes, I looked into the face of my admitting nurse.

It was Annie. • Kathy Irey

• Have you ever felt like God had stopped listening to your prayers? Was there a way He showed you He still cared? If not, you can ask God for this anytime. The Lord may not always take away our pain, but He’ll let us know, He has not abandoned us. (If you want to dig deeper, read 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 12:7-10.)

• When we feel like no one understands our suffering, Jesus does. He suffered for us so that we could befree from the bondage of sin (Isaiah 53). When Jesus returns, He will make all things new; then sin and all its effects will be gone for good, so terrible things like pain and depression will be no more (Revelation 21:1-5). Until that day, He stays with us through everything. Even when it feels like He’s distant, He is always so very present with us—through His Spirit, His Word, and His people. Are there any Bible passages that have resonated with you in times of sorrow and pain? Are there any people in your life who have embodied the kindness of Jesus to you, like Titus did to Paul, and the Corinthian Christians did to Titus, in 2 Corinthians 7:5-7? How might you be able to share the comfort He has given you with others?

“I [Jesus] am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b (NIV)