by Bill Stevens

When we hurt, Christ cares the most

He restores my soul; Psalm 23:3

Grief is especially painful, but especially so during the holidays. Christ cares about your anxieties, worries, pain and grief, and He wants to personally help you through it and restore your soul. When someone we love dies, we are injured emotionally and spiritually, which can make you sick physically. True healing only begins on the inside, because the wound is so deep. Your emotions are torn and need the healing touch of God’s love. Only God himself can bring true healing to the wound of grief. The world offers nothing that can really help you through this pain.

Many times, we look everywhere, but to Christ for our spiritual healing. Some try to find healing in self-control and self-discipline or other relationships. Some just say, “the hell with it!” and go out binge drinking or doing some kind drugs to ease the pain. While others turn to work, busyness, and “being strong” all the while they are hurting beyond belief. Then there are those who stop eating or eat everything they can find. My dear friends if you turn to anyone or anything but God, then you are turning to the wrong one to bring healing. Christ is the only One who can bring inner peace, and bring true healing to the deep wounds of this life.

Twenty-two years ago, I had just begun pastoring my very first church. I could not have been more than 6 months there. I was green and totally unprepared to handle 35-40 funerals in the first 18 months of being a pastor there. I was reading everything I could find to be able to encourage the dear people I was entrusted to care for. They were enduring the horrible preaching that I was doing because they knew I cared for them. I really should apologize to them for the very bad preaching. One lady came to me and after two very significant deaths in 6 months of each other, both were her brothers who raised her from a little girl. Their parents had died early in her life. She was more than distraught. She told me the doctor wanted her to take anxiety medicine, but she did not want to and was very strongly against taking it. She knew she was a basket case, a bundle of raw nerves that had the skin ripped off exposing them.

She came to me and asked me to recommend something to help her from the Bible. I knew she was a follower of Christ from an early age, but she told me in no uncertain terms, “I believe in Christ’s power to help me, and that His Word is powerful enough to help me through this. I may need medicine, but I really don’t want to if I don’t have to, and I need to know what to do.” I silently prayed, “Lord help me, I am over my head and have no clue what to do!” It was then that I was reminded of a story I had just read in an old out of print book. The pastor told a story about a person in his congregation who was struggling with extreme anxiety like she was, and he recommended a Rx prescription for his anxiety. So, I gave her the same prescription.

Rx for Anxiety

• Take Psalms 23 like medicine.

• Take it 5 times a day, 5 minutes each time, for the next 7 days.

• Spend each of those 5 minutes reflecting upon how Christ is your Shepherd and how He cares for you.

• Spend that time praying these things to Christ and acknowledging His role in your life and how He is doing this for you too.

• Look at where you are mentioned in the passage. You are mentioned 12 times (I, me, my).

• You will memorize it, but read it, write it down, and keep your eyes on a copy of it.

She took the Rx to heart! She hunted me down a week later and said, “Pastor! Something happened on the fourth day! When I was reading, ‘He restores my soul’ on the fourth day, something lifted off of me that I can’t explain and I have a peace now that I have never felt before. God used Psalm 23 to heal my soul!”

I was taken aback – I did not expect that level of deep experience that she had with God. But she was different from then on. She was stronger and had a greater sense of inner peace about her than I had ever seen in her life. Her family said the same thing. Christ is the Answer. He does not just have an answer or the answer, but He Himself is The Answer to everything we are facing. Christ restored her soul. Now, I am not against medicine at all, but I am like her in this. Too many people try it before they genuinely try Christ.

The Word of God is very powerful! It is described as a healing ointment to our soul, a crushing hammer to destroy wrong habits and bad thought patterns, and a purging fire to cleanse our soul of guilt and shame. It is unlike any other book on the planet. It is the bestselling book every year for a reason.