When His Presence Became Bigger Than My Pain

• By candidasullivan
• August 31, 2026
• No Comments

Are you in a place of deep pain? Does it feel like things will never get better?

Oh, sweet friend, I have been there. 

I have been in ditches so deep that I felt like I might drown in my tears. I’ve experienced pain deeper than I thought possible, and relentless. It never stopped. I can remember a time when I lay awake through the night, hurting and feeling as if I couldn’t take it another moment. 

That’s when I truly got to know the Lord. 

I had cried until I could barely breathe. My nose was swollen, along with my eyes, from the continuous crying. But I couldn’t stop. I had reached a place where my misery was more than I could handle. Nothing helped me. 

Then I felt God. He held me. And in His arms, the pain became bearable. My weakness created a space for His strength. And it was unmistakable. 

In His arms, my pain eased and I slept. I remember drifting off to sleep feeling so incredibly loved. 

It also showed me something so beautiful. My pain allowed me to know God in a way I had never known Him before. God didn’t completely remove my pain. In that moment, He didn’t heal me. But He did help me through it. 

God gave me such a precious moment to remember and carry with me. Regardless of what happens to me, the Lord will always be with me. He doesn’t leave us in the painful places. If we allow Him to, He will hold us. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV

⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I always thought sufficient grace meant God would give me enough strength to handle everything. But perhaps sometimes it means reaching the end of my own strength and discovering that His is still there.

During that time in my life, I got to understand this verse on a deeper level. I understood that God’s grace is sufficient for me, too. I learned how to glory in my infirmities as well. 

After I experienced God in such a powerful way, the intensity of the pain wasn’t what I remembered. It was the power I felt from God as He held me. 

God didn’t change my circumstances in that moment, but He changed me. He calmed the storm raging inside me and gave me a peace my mind couldn’t fully understand. 

I’ve been through a lot in my life. Sometimes when I revisit those previous trials, I am in awe of how I got through them. 

It wasn’t me. 

It wasn’t my wisdom or knowledge. 

It wasn’t my strength. 

It was God. 

He can do things for us that we can’t do for ourselves. God can help us in ways that we don’t see or understand. Time after time, He has made a way for me. He has walked with me through the storms. And every interaction with Him strengthens me. His power has lifted me, changed me, and increased my love. 

To experience God this way is one of the greatest gifts of my life. Honestly, words escape me when I try to articulate what it feels like to be held by God.

If you’re in that deep place today, you don’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt. You don’t have to manufacture strength. You don’t even have to understand why you’re there.

Just reach for Him.

Tell Him it hurts. Tell Him you’re tired. Tell Him you don’t know how to keep going. Bring Him every tear and every weakness.

Maybe He will change the circumstances.

Maybe He will make a way you cannot see yet.

But even before anything around you changes, He can meet you there.

And sometimes, in the place where we discover how weak we really are, we finally discover how strong our God really is.