“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20, ASV).

Medicine has made much progress in pain control. However, there is one type of pain that no medicine can heal. Spiritual pain that ails one’s soul knows no comfort in a hospital.

What is spiritual pain? There are many kinds of spiritual pain. Some are caused by our own actions. We sin against others and destroy relationships. We abuse our bodies and suffer illness or debilitation. We can’t forgive ourselves or others.

Other types of spiritual pain are out of our control. Illnesses and accidents kill loved ones or incapacitate them. We are no longer able to perform our role in life or take care of ourselves, and we lose meaning for our lives.

The feeling of hopelessness is the worst kind of pain, especially if one feels that God doesn’t care for him and has forsaken him. Hopelessness can lead to a downward spiral from which there is no recovery. It often leads to suicide.

God and Jesus are the answer to every kind of spiritual pain. Their forgiveness is healing for the soul. Their promise of a home with them in heaven destroys hopelessness. God’s love and our faith in Him can be the spiritual balm that heals us. Through prayer and faith we can access God’s healing for ourselves and help others find it. May we reach out to them and share God’s love and healing, for God gives it to all who believe. Let us be part of a church that shares God’s promises with others.

“I shall pass thru this world but once. Any good I can do or any kindness I can show any human being, let me do it now. Let me not deter or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” Stephen Grellet (1773-1855)

Hymn: “Consider the Lilies of the Field”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we never forget Your love and care for us. Remind us that we are Your ambassadors to share it with others. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Donna Wittlif, Denver, Colorado