Have you ever been in pain or in a painful situation that just felt inescapable? You prayed for God to take the pain away or to take you out of the situation, but it didn’t seem to happen quickly…or maybe at all? If that’s you, I want to give you this reminder: God is always at work, even in the healing.
A couple of years ago, I injured my knee from overuse. At first, it was manageable, so I ignored it. But over time, the pain grew worse. Then one day, my knee gave out completely—I could barely stand. I finally went to the doctor, tried physical therapy, did everything I was supposed to do, but nothing seemed to help.
One night I woke up in intense pain—not just in my knee, but in my other knee, my hip, and my foot. Lying there, I cried out to the Lord: “What am I doing wrong? I’m doing all the right things, but the pain just keeps spreading!” And in that quiet moment, I sensed the Spirit whisper: “Sometimes coming out of a painful situation means healing all that was affected, not just the knee.”
That truth hit me deeply. While my knee was the obvious problem, ignoring it caused my whole body to adjust, to compensate, to carry the strain. The result? Pain in places I never expected.
And isn’t that how emotional and spiritual pain works too? When we carry trauma, loss, betrayal, church hurt, or grief, we may think we’re only dealing with one wound. But over time, other parts of our hearts and lives start compensating—relationships strain, faith feels shaky, joy feels distant. Healing doesn’t just mean patching up the obvious hurt; it means letting God touch every part that’s been affected.
Healing takes time. Just like my knee didn’t get weak overnight, your pain didn’t develop overnight either. But God promises to walk with us in the process. Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” That’s not just one wound—it’s all the places where the brokenness has spread.
Friend, I want you to know: God isn’t ignoring your pain. He sees the whole picture. And He loves you enough to go deeper than quick fixes. Like peeling back the layers of an artichoke, He gently works layer by layer until He gets to the tender heart—the place where His love can bring full restoration.
Today’s Step: Don’t just pray for the obvious pain to go away. Ask God, “What else in me has been affected that You want to heal?” Then invite Him into those places and give Him permission to begin His healing work there.
If this encouragement spoke to you, I’d love for you to listen to the full podcast episode where I share this story and a prayer just for you. You can find Episode 28: I Choose Today to Let God Heal Every Part of Me here → ichoosetoday.org/listen
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