Felt really disheartened today by a number of things, and was on the verge of tears when I remembered God. I prayed silently in my heart, I prayed for Him to help me, I prayed for strength, and He gave them to me. He didn't stop there. He encouraged me through the book I was reading.

"You cannot be alive very long without being wounded. The sun rises, the stars follow their courses, the waves roll in crashing against the rocks, and we are wounded. Broken hearts cannot long be avoided in this beautiful yet dangerous world we live in. This is not Eden. Not even close. We are not living in the world our souls were made for. Something's rotten in the state of Denmark and in our own backyards as we journey through the unknown terrain of the moments and months that make up our lives.
Take a deep look into the eyes of anyone and behind the smile or the fear, you will find pain. And most people are in more pain than even they realize. Sorrow is not a stranger to any of us, though only a few have learned that it is not our enemy either. Because we are the ones loved by the God, the King of kings, Jesus himself, who came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free,... (pg 64-65)
...Christ asks our permission to come in and heal, but he is kind, and the door is shut from the inside, and healing never comes against our will. In order to experience his healing, we must also give him permission to come in to the places we have so long shut to anyone. Will you let me heal you? He knocks through our loneliness. He knocks through our sorrows. He knocks through events that feel too close to what happened to us when we were young - a betrayal, a rejection, a word spoken, a relationship lost. He knocks through many things, waiting for us to give him permission to enter in. (pg 100)"
-Captivating, John & Stasi Eldredge

No matter what we go through, God will always be there for us. We just have to invite Him into our hearts and not shut Him out. Consecrate ourselves to Him, speak to God, cry out to Him, and He will come and ease your pain and heal your wounds. I felt really comforted by this today, alongside the comfort and encouragement of many brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you, for being there for me! And ultimately, thank You, Lord, for never leaving nor forsaking me, but for loving me and upholding me despite my sins. Amen.