pain — Daily Devotion — Kristen Alexis Cave

What We’re Called To Do In The Midst Of Pain

Whenever I’m having a tough time, a bad day, or I’m feeling down, I open up my “words of affirmation jar.” I’m still working on the name, but that’s not important. My “words of affirmation jar” is a white jar that sits on my desk. It’s filled with tiny little folded-up pieces of paper, each containing an encouraging or affirming message from my husband. This was his Christmas gift to me three years ago, and he has continued to refill it ever since he gave it to me. I remember one particular afternoon when I was feeling down and discouraged, I opened up the jar and grabbed a piece of paper. When it opened it up, it contained one word, followed by a few numbers.

Kristen CaveJuly 22, 2024pain, frustration, patience, hope, prayer, faithfulness, trust, trusting GodComment

The Benefit Of Enduring Hard Times

If we go through life without any sort of pushback, any sort of tension, storms, or struggles, our faith will not grow stronger. Rather, it will collapse under the pressure down the road because it hasn’t been conditioned to handle the hard parts of life. The difficult moments we face, the heartbreaking circumstances that come our way, those are the things that the Lord uses to mature us, to grow us, and to develop us so that we can learn to remain standing through it all.

Kristen CaveDecember 19, 2023perseverance, storms, hard times, struggle, heartbreak, pain, stand, faith, trust, hopeComment

Beauty In The Valley

Gratitude is all about perspective. Are we willing to widen our gaze to see what unexpected blessings came along this year? Or are we going to remain focused on the disappointment and unmet expectations? Are we willing to dig a little deeper to identify all that we can to thank the Lord for? Or are we going to hold onto our surface perspective, zoning in on what we wish didn’t happen this year?

Kristen CaveNovember 22, 2023valley, struggle, disappointment, discouragement, pain, hardship, 2020, joy, peace, thankfulness, gratitude, thanksgiving, thankfulComment

Covering Up The Pain

One of the most underrated kinds of pain you can feel is the pain that comes from stubbing your toe inside your shoe. If this has never happened to you, congratulations. But if you have ever accidentally slid your toes into the end of your shoe, you know exactly what kind of pain I’m talking about.

Kristen CaveSeptember 22, 2023pain, hurt, struggle, vulnerability, honest, honesty, counsel, wisdom, cover up, healing, heartbreakComment

Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Empathy

Yesterday as I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across a post by one of my favorite influencers where she shared that she had miscarried over the weekend. A few minutes later, I watched her Instagram stories where she shared more about what had happened. While this story was absolutely heartbreaking, there was one detail that made my heart sink with sadness and disappointment.

Kristen CaveSeptember 14, 2023empathy, care, advice, counsel, wisdom, mercy, pain, difficulty, disappointment, hurtComment

Ripped Jeans And Messy Lives

A few years ago, I was getting ready for work and decided to wear my favorite Old Navy black jeans. They were my favorite at the time not only because they were black and therefore flattering, but because they had an elastic waistband, which was extremely underrated at the time. When I put the jeans on, I noticed a little hole in the inseam of the inside of my pant leg. But it was a very tiny hole and it wasn’t super noticeable, so I wore the jeans to work anyway.

Kristen CaveAugust 24, 2023mending, healing, heartbreak, hurt, pain, fixing problemsComment

You Don't Have To Have It All Together

A couple summers ago, I went to the doctor to get some antibiotics for a cuticle infection I had on my left hand (gross, I know). When I was sitting in the room with the doctor, she asked me if I was allergic to any medication, and I told her no, because, at that time, I had never had a negative reaction to any medicine I’d been given.

Kristen CaveJuly 3, 2023healing, hope, church, community, judgmental, grace, suffering, pain, sicknessComment

Aching And Believing

As I've been reading through the Psalms over the last few weeks, I've noticed a pattern in many of the chapters written by King David. So often, he starts with an aching in his heart, a pain point that seems to be too much for him. He cries out to God, asking the Lord where He is, what He's doing, and why He feels so far away.

Kristen CaveNovember 29, 2021psalms, pain, hurt, hope, hopeless, listening, prayer, unanswered prayers, God's faithfulness, believeComment

God, Why Are You Allowing This?

Have you ever found yourself asking God this question: “Lord, how can any good come from this pain I’m dealing with?” Maybe you follow up the question saying things like, “I thought You loved me. Why are you allowing me to go through this immense pain? Why don’t you intervene right now? Why don’t you take this struggle away from me?”

Kristen CaveNovember 5, 2021pain, circumstances, tough times, struggle, waiting, relief, prayer, unanswered prayers, romans 8:28, all things for goodComment

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