Hope for the Hurting: For the Hurting: Encouragement for Suffering SeasonsSample

You may have heard the phrase, “God won’t waste your pain.” I was reminded of this truth while reading a section of Scripture I’m often tempted to skim past—the genealogy of Christ. You may have heard preachers talk about how this reveals Jesus as the long-promised Son of David, which is true. Yet, tucked within this historical account, we see three surprising names and the allusion to a fourth: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife Bathsheba.

Living in a patriarchal society where females were often treated as property, these Old Testament women endured significant suffering.

Three became widows, a life-threatening condition in their day, and one that placed them on the lowest rung of society. Rahab was a prostitute, a profession I doubt she chose. Lastly, Bathsheba was sexually victimized by the most powerful man, King David, who violated her, then, once she became pregnant, had her husband killed.

I wonder, did these women ever feel abandoned and unseen, so heartbroken, they couldn’t imagine God ever redeeming their pain?

Do you see how beautiful Matthew's genealogy is? Not only did the Lord honor these women by memorializing their names in Scripture, but He also used their circumstances to further His most glorious plan in all of history—the coming of His Son, the Messiah, our Savior.

I’m convinced God recorded their names in Scripture to remind those of us who feel stomped on, used, and discarded that He sees us, our pain, and the injustice we suffered—and will, in some way, redeem it all.

If you’re in a hard season, cling to this truth: The Lord won’t waste your pain.

~Warmly, Jennifer Slattery