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Suffering is not always great pain.

Sometimes suffering is a great numbness.

A deep loneliness or a fog of discontent.

A feeling that you are not doing much with your life or a lack of emotion in general.

Suffering is sometimes an absence of the felt presence of God.

My God, my God!

A cry of despair toward a seemingly empty heaven.

An emotion of not-caring which you feel should be frightening but is not.

Sometimes this is the cross we are asked to bear.

It is not as flashy or book-worthy, yet is just as real.

Just as difficult.

If this is you, may I believe for you until you can believe again?

God is here.

He is with you, even in the cloud.

He is with you, even in the dark.

Even when you cannot feel Him, when you cannot believe,

even when you cannot care,

just do the next right thing.

Behave as though you feel, believe, care.

I believe, I know.

He is here.

Even in the dark.

Perhaps especially in the dark.

He is with you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

No matter how long you must continue to live this suffering that is your cross.

So He has promised.

So it shall be.

So take courage and keep walking.

He is with you.

Always.

Art credits: Moses in the cloud from a Bible primer by Hult, Adolf, 1869-1943; Augustana synod.; all other photographs copyright by Made Sacred, 2017.