Wednesday, November 11, 2026From the news

Where Healing Still Reaches: A Word for Those Carrying Other People's Pain

When war overwhelms the places of healing, God remains close to the broken and offers mercy that is renewed every morning.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

This week, NPR reported that renewed fighting in Ethiopia has pushed the country's healthcare system close to collapse. One surgeon described a brutal week in September when the emergency room was flooded with people wounded by war. Behind those words are real people: children and parents, soldiers and civilians, each carrying a body that has been broken and a family that has been shaken. And behind the surgeons and nurses are tired human beings who have been asked to do more than any person can do alone. If you read that story and felt your chest tighten, you are not overreacting. It is right to grieve when violence tears through the places meant to heal.

Scripture never asks us to pretend that suffering is small. The psalmists cried out again and again, and God allowed those cries to stand in his Word. Psalm 34:18 offers us something quiet and steady: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Notice that the verse does not say God stays far away until the chaos settles. He draws near to the brokenhearted. When the emergency room is full, when the hallways are crowded, when no one has time to sit still, God is not too busy to be near. His nearness is not a theory for calmer days. It is his promise for the ones who are crushed right now.

That promise also speaks to those of us who are not in Ethiopia and who feel helpless from a distance. Perhaps you have been scrolling through headlines and feeling a heavy weight with nowhere to set it down. Jesus knows that weight. In Matthew 11:28 he says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He does not say, "Come after you have figured out how to fix the world." He invites the weary to come as they are. Sometimes the most faithful first step is simply to bring the grief to him in prayer, by name, with the specific people and places that have been on your heart.

And when we come, we find that God's mercy is not a one-time gift but a daily one. Lamentations 3:22-23 was written by a people who had seen their city destroyed, and yet they could still testify, "They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Those words were not born from easy circumstances. They were born in ruins. If you are tired today, let these words take hold of you: God's compassions have not run out. The mercy that sustained the surgeons, the nurses, and the patients will meet you in the same way this morning.

So let us take heart and let us also act with the small faithfulness that is in our reach. Pray for peace, for the wounded, and for those who serve them. Give to trustworthy relief efforts if the Lord leads you to do so. Speak gently to the people in your own life who are carrying hard news. The Lord who is close to the brokenhearted is also the one who sends his people to be near others. You may not be able to stop the fighting, but you can bring the same tender presence God has shown you to the person who needs it in front of you today.