When Stunned

Great sorrow can stun, and it can make you forget the best source of consolation. A little blow can cause great pain. Yet I have heard that in assaults serious blows do not cause pain because they have destroyed consciousness. Extreme distress can rob you of your wits and make you forget the source of your relief. Under the chastening rod, the pain is remembered and the healing promise is forgotten.

The people of Israel, when they were under God’s affliction, failed to remember His covenant because of the crushing effect of their sorrow and despair. Is that how it is with you? Has your ear grown dull though grief? Has your heart forgotten because of heaviness? Does your affliction seem more real than God? Does the black sorrow that covers you eclipse all the light of heaven and earth?

May I be my Master’s messenger? Let me remind you that He is still in covenant with you. ‘Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies’ (Lamentations 3:32). It is written, ‘We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose’ (Romans 8:28). He will keep His Word! He has also said, ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you’ (Isaiah 43:2). Depend on it; He will sustain you.

Brush those tears away, anoint your head, wash your face, and be of good courage (II Samuel 12:20). The Lord will strengthen your heart.

—C.H. Spurgeon, ‘Be Still My Soul’

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Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you…

—Psalm 42:5

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Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey…

—Exodus 3:7

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For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.

—Psalm 22:24

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Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

—Psalm 34:19

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But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

—Psalm 69:29

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Do you know that feeling, beloved? (gentle) The feeling of being stunned, paralyzed, despairing almost to the point of numbness? Where all seems dark and lost, and the tears fall and fall like a deluge that never ceases?

All the crying, beloved, the pain, the ache…it incapacitates you momentarily at times, does it not? (tender) Whereas only an hour or a day ago you were able to preach truth to yourself, now no proper words even come to mind. Whereas before you could at least get a glimpse of Christ with eyes of faith, now you feel utterly blind and alone. Whereas you once knew relief and consolation at the reading and hearing of His Word, now it seems dry as the sun-soaked desert. Whereas a spark of hope once flickered in your soul, now, you fear, the fire of His Spirit has been quenched. You feel immobile, disoriented, fuzzy, cornered. You wonder which way is up and which way is down and you try frantically to get your bearings. Almost like when one is knocked down by a Herculean wave in the ocean, you immerge from the undertow bewildered, flailing about, frantically looking for the shore, but with the salt water stinging your eyes, nothing looks familiar, and this only sends you into a further state of panic and sorrow, does it not, beloved? (extra gentle)

O, beloved! Do not fret. (gentle) Do not be troubled, O my soul! This happens to us all, in due season. Our feelings, beloved, they ebb and flow—a beautiful gift they are to be sure, aye!—but also tainted by the Fall. (gentle) What you are feeling just now, my beautiful one—it’s common to man; it’s a condition known by our Brother, our Savior, our Friend. He too experienced these emotions, walking here among us as He so graciously did.

But beloved? (gentle, hopeful) One does not stay ‘stunned’ forever, does he, does she? (tender, prodding) No, beloved—no. (extra gentle) This state, these feelings, they’re only passing, fleeting, here one moment and gone the next, like a mist, beloved.

And even in these moments, especially in these moments, my precious one, He has not left you—no. (strong) His covenant is sure. His promises remain. His character is unchanged. His love for you only grows and grows, my beautiful child. He gifts mercy to you. He lifts your head. He raises your eyes. He orients your wayward heart. He whispers tenderly into your ear. He gazes upon you with longing. He has compassion on you, beloved.

Perhaps you have momentarily forgotten Him, but He has not forgotten you. Perhaps your faith has wavered, but His tender grip on you has not. Perhaps you felt a bit like you were drowning for a time, but He was right there beside you, ready to rescue you from the mighty waves all along. (gentle, reassuring)

He sees you, beloved. He hears you. He has set His heart upon you. From this place, this valley—the very lowest of lows—He will deliver you. He will set your feet upon the Rock, and raise you once again from death to life. O, beloved—fear not! An end will come to your despair. Soon, beloved—you need only wait patiently upon our Rescuer and our Redeemer. He will sustain and keep you. (strong)

‘Brush those tears away, anoint your head, wash your face, and be of good courage. The Lord will strengthen your heart.’ Aye, beloved—yes, indeed!

Amen.