Your jaw is throbbing even as you read this, and the ache crowds out your thoughts and your rest. Pain has a way of narrowing the whole world to one angry nerve, until it seems that nothing exists but the hurt and the longing for it to stop. The Lord Jesus knows the body He made. He knows every channel of sensation, every throb of discomfort you are feeling right now. He did not come to destroy but to heal, and the power that flowed from Him to a paralyzed man let down through a roof, to Peter's mother-in-law burning with fever, is the very same power that reaches you this hour. The Great Physician has not changed His nature, and His ear is not grown heavy. When you cry, "LORD, please take this toothache away," you are speaking to One who was moved with compassion for every sort of bodily misery that met Him in Galilee. He is not indifferent to what you suffer.
Sometimes our Lord lets pain linger just long enough to make us press nearer to Him. A fever-stricken woman lay in Peter's house, and the fever did not flee until Jesus stood over her and touched her. But when He came, He came close. He entered that humble fisherman's hut. The fever did not shut Him out; it drew Him in. So it may be with you this hour. The ache you feel is not a sign of His absence, it is the very reason He draws near, like a father who bends low over a fretful child in the dark. You have asked Him to take it away, and you have asked in Jesus' name. That name is the key that opens the storehouse of mercy. Cease from all anxious repetition and rest your weight upon that name now. He heard you the first time you whispered it through the pain.
And you have asked for a dentist, for guidance, for someone who is skilled and trustworthy. That, too, pleads at the throne of grace. The Shepherd who guides His sheep with His eye does not disdain to lead you in practical, homely matters. People sometimes imagine that the Lord is only interested in grand spiritual affairs, forgetting that the same Psalm which says, "You shall guide me with Your counsel" was written by a man who needed direction in daily dangers and small choices. Your Good Shepherd knows the chair you will sit in, the hands that will treat you, and He can make the way plain. Quiet your heart and watch for the gentle indications of His providence, perhaps a name brought to mind, a word from a friend, an unexpected opening. Do not fret over whether you will recognize His voice. The sheep know the Shepherd's leading, often best when they are most weak and sore.
While you wait for relief, let the pain drive you deeper into the love of Christ. When the ache sharpens, instead of letting it provoke your spirit to vexation, use it as a call to lean your soul upon Him. The power of the Lord is present to heal, even now. Not always with a sudden miracle, but with a steadying, sustaining grace that holds you fast. He forgives your iniquities and heals your diseases, and whether He heals by a touch or by a dentist's skill and the passing of hours, He is still the Healer. Trust His heart when you cannot yet trace His hand.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, You who entered Peter's house and found it a hospital, enter this dear soul's place of pain. Steady the throbbing, quiet the fear, and grant sleep and respite according to Your will. In Your good time, open the door to a dentist who is both competent and kind, a true gift from Your hand. But before the appointment comes, let peace garrison the heart and mind. Hold this trembling lamb fast, and let no suffering separate them from the sense of Your love. Guide them with Your counsel, and afterward receive them to glory, and just now, let them taste that glory in the comfort of Your presence. Amen.