Tuesday, September 12, 2023

You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.

Psalm 88:8-9

If I surveyed any of you reading this devotional about social pain, I believe you could describe that pain in the tiniest details. As humans, we desire to fit in and belong. Social pain or wounds occur when that need is challenged or not met. Don't we remember that pain as children? It happens when another child says a mean thing at school. Or when the “cool kids” decide that you don’t fit in their group. It may also happen when you are ridiculed about your clothes.

Unfortunately, the pain does not end when we grow up. We hear someone saying something negative about us at work, or we hear that a neighbor has revealed a confidence. When these things happen as adults, we feel reinjured. Many times, we not only feel the sting of the current assault, but we are also reminded of past pain.

This psalmist describes a time when he is isolated from his closest friends. He says that he is considered repulsive to them. This social pain causes emotional anguish in that he feels confined and his eyes are dim with grief. In verse 9, he calls to God every day and spreads his hands out to him.

PRAYER: Lord, you are my answer despite the gravity of my pain. I have been hurt by others on many occasions, but it is in your presence that I feel full acceptance. I call out my pain to you, in hopes that you will heal my aching heart. In the Name of Jesus, Amen