Healing in a World of Division
- Faith
It is no secret that we are living in a divided world. You can hear it in conversations, see it on social media, and feel it in the tension that…
I never wanted to learn about God in the middle of pain. Like most people, I wanted the lessons to come from joy, celebration, and answered prayers. But in my life, the deepest truths about God were not revealed when things were easy. They came through heartbreak, loss, struggle, and the moments I thought I could not make it through.
Looking back, pain became a teacher I never asked for, but one God used in powerful ways. It stripped away the shallow ideas I once held about Him and replaced them with a faith that was not just intellectual, but personal, lived, and tested.
Here are five things I’ve learned about God through pain, and I share them because I believe they may encourage you if you are walking through your own valley.
I used to believe healing would be quick if I prayed enough, believed enough, or worked hard enough. But when I was faced with long seasons of loss and grief, I realized God was not rushing me, and He was not rushing Himself.
Pain taught me that God values depth over speed. Healing takes time because it is forming something in us that could not be created overnight. It is like a seed underground. You cannot see what is happening, but roots are growing deep.
When God does not rush the process, it is not because He is ignoring us. It is because He is building something unshakable inside of us.
In the hardest seasons of my life, I often wondered, “Where are You, God?” The silence felt so heavy. But over time I learned that absence was not what I was experiencing. God was still present, even if His presence felt different than I expected.
When we are hurting, we may not feel the same joy or clarity we once did, but that does not mean God has left. Sometimes His presence looks like comfort instead of answers. Sometimes it looks like quiet companionship instead of bold miracles.
Pain revealed to me that God is steady. He does not abandon us in our sorrow. He holds us even when we cannot hold ourselves.
One of the hardest lessons pain taught me was that silence does not mean abandonment. For a long time, I believed if God was not speaking loudly, He must not care. But I have since learned that His silence is often an invitation to stillness.
In silence, He invites us to listen differently. To notice the small ways He is moving. To find Him in the whisper instead of the shout. Elijah discovered this on the mountain, when God was not in the wind, fire, or earthquake, but in the gentle whisper.
Pain has shown me that silence is not the absence of God’s voice. It is the opportunity to hear Him more intimately.
When my heart was shattered, I used to think I had to perform my way back into His love. I thought I had to be strong, grateful, or put together in order for God to stay close. Pain taught me the opposite.
God sits with us in the sorrow. He does not rush us to get over it. He does not tell us to smile when our heart is breaking. He meets us right where we are, with no expectation other than honesty.
Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He knew resurrection was coming, yet He still chose to sit in the grief of the moment. That story changed how I saw my own sorrow. If Jesus Himself is willing to sit with me in my tears, then I do not need to hide them.
The last thing pain taught me is that God often speaks most clearly in stillness. In the noise of my life, I could distract myself from the ache. But when I slowed down, when I allowed the silence to remain, I found His voice there.
Stillness is uncomfortable, especially when you are carrying hurt. But it is in stillness that clarity often comes. God does not compete with chaos. He waits until our hearts are quiet enough to hear Him.
Pain has a way of forcing us into stillness. And it is in those quiet places where I have heard God most clearly say, “I see you. I am with you. You are not alone.”
If you are walking through pain right now, I want to share a few ways you can begin leaning into these lessons yourself:
Pain was never something I wanted, but it became the place where God revealed His heart to me in the most personal ways. Pain stripped away performance. It stripped away shallow ideas of faith. And in its place, it gave me a God who is patient, present, and unshakably faithful.
If you are in pain today, I hope you know this: pain is not proof that God has left you. It may actually be the place He is drawing closest. And when you look back, you may realize pain was not the thing that pushed Him away, but the very thing that brought Him nearer.
I’m Kelsey. For decades I’ve walked alongside women through chronic pain, burnout, motherhood, faith shifts, and the complicated in-between seasons of life.
What I know for certain: real change doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from surrendering what we’ve been forced to be to what we really want to BECOME. Aligning with what matters most to experience the “more” your soul craves.
The Kelsey Mercer Podcast explores what it actually looks like to live with purpose, resilience, and connection — in every season. No polish, no pretense. Just honest dialogue on faith, health, relationships, and the work of becoming.
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