Pain in God’s heart

   I have decided to write a bit about the pain in God’s heart. It seems as if everybody knows about God’s love, but what about God’s pain? God isn’t a vending machine for distribution of blessings, it is the most fascinating being in the whole universe. It is not an impersonal energy, but a loving person. And love involves pain.

    Several years ago I prayed and fasted with a minister of a small congregation. I was fasting for quite a long time (40 days). In the first week God said to me that “before the agreed time elapsed I would see the answers to my prayers”. Reasoning that the agreed time was probably those 40 days, I was looking forward to the answers. The main reason for our fasting was a plea to God to release the same power in the church as in the first one. We asked primarily for healing physically and mentally disabled children; I asked God to give me an answer concerning my relationship etc. After circa 30 days of fasting, we had an evening prayer gathering attended by not only our congregation but also representatives of several other communities. It was an evening of miracles for me.

   Perhaps I should first say that for a long time (when I sought deliverance from the effects of occultism) I reproached God for not caring how I feel, that the only thing that mattered to Him was whether I acted right. Sure, there were more reproaches like that, but this one was the most common. I used to say something like: “I see, you don’t care, you aren’t concerned!”

   God acted at this gathering in such a way that three denominations merged into one (Apostolic Church, Christian Communities and Triumphant Faith Church). Apart from that, I received a very clear explanation of why the spiritual state of the region was so bad. Nevertheless, the most powerful experience for me was that God let me peer into His heart. I felt I was only “at the very fringe” where the concentration of the pain was the least, yet I thought it would tear me up. I knew that no man would be able to bear so much pain. I was crying for several hours, unable to stop. I had difficulty conveying the revelation concerning the spiritual state through my crying. This experience changed my view of God as well as my attitudes. Since then I have never complained about God’s insensibility.

   I don’t know to what extent it is common but several times in recent years, God has let me know and experience His pain, sorrow and things that have troubled Him. I have never preached about the pain in God’s heart neither have I heard any lecture on that topic. Every experience of ours has to be checked against God’s word. Does the Bible confirm my experiences, or is it a nonsense that doesn’t come from God? So, let’s look into the Bible!

Genesis 6, 5-8 (ASV): And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.

   Can you see? It is as early as the 6^th chapter of Genesis (literally “birth”, usually translated as “the book of creation”) where we see God the Creator having great pain in His heart because of how the whole mankind had gotten perverted. Wishing he hadn’t created man, He intended to destroy all the creation. Verse 8 tells us that there was a man who found mercy with God (in Hebrew “chen” = favour, mercy). As you can see, God is very sensitive!

Isaiah 63, 8-10 (ASV): For he said, Surely, they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.

   Have you also thought that God knows your troubles but isn’t very much concerned? Have you thought that he is somehow detached?

   However, the Bible says something altogether different. God is distressed by whatever plague people suffer, he feels and lives through all our pains and tribulations. And as if it wasn’t enough, verse 10 indicates that it is possible to grieve His Holy Spirit also by our attitudes. Do you know that you can grieve God? It is not a translation error. There is the same Hebrew world ( עצב - “atsab” - {H6087} ) used as in the verse of the 6^th chapter of Genesis mentioned above.

Ephesians 4, 30 (ASV): And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption.

   Here you have a confirmation of verse 10 of the 63^rd chapter of Isaiah. We are able to grieve Holy Spirit (the Greek word “loo-peh'-o”- λυπεω {G3076} - means torment, grieve, cause pain or sorrow; by its meaning, it is a parallel of the Hebrew word “atsab”)

   I don’t want to dwell on the theme of the pain in God’s heart, rather, I wish you to deliberate over this article, to think about this theme. I hope it will make changes in your life, not only a change of view, but a change in your attitude to God. It may be helpful to realize that by committing a sin you hurt somebody most of you say you love.