The Flame Within

This weekend at a women’s retreat, I experienced something I will never forget.

A woman prayed over me, and in the middle of her prayer she said:

“Lord, when You and Crystal were attacked in that devastating attack in Australia…”

The moment she said it, tears flooded my eyes.

I had never thought about it that way before.

I had always carried the pain as something that happened to me.
Something I endured.
Something I survived.

But in that moment, something shifted deep within my heart.

God was there.
Not distant. Not absent. Not unaware.

He was there.

And when I was attacked… He was attacked too.

Because I am His child.

That realization brought a level of healing I didn’t even know I needed.

I was not alone in that moment.
I was not unseen.
I was not forgotten.

God felt it.
God saw it.
God grieved it.

After the prayer, through tears, I told her how much it meant to me.

She looked at me and said,
“Did I say that? I didn’t even know… wow. That was God.”

And I believe that with everything in me.

Because God knows exactly what His children need.
Even the words our hearts have never been able to form.

It was vulnerable to be prayed over like that.
To let someone step into such a tender place.

But it was also holy. It was healing.

⸻

Friends, When God’s Children Are Hurt, He Feels It. Our pain is His pain. The way a loving parents agonizes over their child’s suffering, longing to take it upon themselves to protect their child. This is the good God we have. I need to remember this truth everytime I face a difficult trial.

God’s Word Speaks

In Acts 9:4, Jesus says, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

He didn’t say “my people.” He said Me. When His children were attacked, He took it personally.

Isaiah 63:9 says, “In all their distress He too was distressed…”
God does not stand at a distance from our pain. He enters into it.

Psalm 34:18 reminds us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted…”
Not just aware of it. Close to it.

Zechariah 2:8 says, “Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye.”
You are deeply personal to Him. What touches you, touches Him.

Psalm 56:8 says He collects every tear.
Not one moment of your pain has been ignored.

Matthew 25:40 says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for Me.”
Jesus so closely identifies with His people that what is done to them is done to Him.

Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that we have a High Priest who empathizes with our weaknesses.
He understands. He feels. He knows.

*** Reflection ***

• What would it mean for your healing if you truly believed God was present in your pain… not just watching, but feeling it with you?
• Where have you felt alone that God may be gently reminding you… you never were?
• Can you allow yourself to receive the truth that your pain mattered to Him then, and it still matters now?

*** Friends, if you have walked through something painful, please hear this:

God did not look away.
He did not abandon you.
And your pain did not go unnoticed in heaven.

He was there.
He felt it.
And He is still bringing healing.

Blessings, Crystal Ridlon, LPC