You are weary of that ache in your left hand, and I do not wonder. Pain has a way of wearing down the spirit, as a constant drip wears away a stone. It keeps you from rest, from the little tasks that make up a day, from that sense of freedom you long for. You have cried to the Lord to take it away, and that is right, He is the Great Physician, and His power is present to heal. But while you wait for the relief to come, let me sit with you a moment and point you to the hand that holds your own.
Think of the Master’s hands, strong, yet so gentle. Those hands were stretched out to the sick, the broken, the fevered. He touched the blind eyes and they opened; He took the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law, burning with a great fever, and immediately the fever left her and she rose to serve. He did not recoil from the sore or the unclean. And He does not recoil from you. That left hand of yours, though it throbs and aches, is not hidden from Him. He knows every nerve, every sinew, for He framed them in secret. Your pain is not a proof of His absence, but an occasion for His tender presence. A father does not love his child less because the child has a fever; he sits by the bed, he smooths the pillow, he waits for the morning. So your heavenly Father watches over you.
It may seem a small thing to ask, a hand set free from pain, but it is not small to Him. The Lord who numbers the stars and calls them by name is the same Lord who binds up the broken in heart and heals all their wounds. He is interested in the least member of your body, even as He is interested in your immortal soul. The Gospel is a healing power from head to foot. When He walked among us, He might have come with destroying power, but instead, mercy shone on His brow and healing streamed from His touch. And that same power is yours now, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
You ask to be free, and that is a holy desire. But know this: even while the pain lingers, you are not chained. Your spirit is not bound by the ache of your body. Amid your fear, you can trust. Amid your groaning, you can have peace. The apostle knew what it was to have a thorn in the flesh, a persistent messenger of Satan to buffet him. Yet he learned that when he was weak, then he was strong, because Christ’s grace was sufficient. So it is with you. Your condition is complex, like David’s who said, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Fear and faith can dwell in the same heart; the one does not cancel the other. You may feel the throb of pain and yet, in the very same moment, rest your soul on the certainty that you are loved with an everlasting love.
So let your prayer rise like incense, and let your heart lean hard on Him. Picture His hand covering yours, cooling the heat, easing the ache, imparting His own life. He knows what it is to suffer; His own hands were pierced through. He is not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He has felt the weariness of the flesh, the sharp sting of agony. Therefore He is able to help you in this very hour.
Now let us pray together.
Lord Jesus, our Beloved Physician, we bring before You this dear soul and that hand, that left hand which aches with pain. You made it, You know its every part. Speak the word and the pain must flee. Lay Your healing touch upon it now, for with You nothing is impossible. Grant patience while the relief comes, and let Your peace, which passes all understanding, keep the heart and mind in quietness and confidence. May this child of Yours know the freedom that is found in Your will, whether the body is whole or weak, for You are enough. We ask this in Your precious name, Jesus. Amen.