Psalm 25:16-18
Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.  The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.  Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

Are we willing to invite God into these painful places?  Will we share with Him our deepest hurts and allow Him to work in them?  Will we turn to Him alone for deliverance, for His special mercy, for forgiveness and restoration?  Can’t we show Him just what is hurting us so much and see what He might be able to do about it?  Because when we turn toward Him, He will turn toward us, and He will have mercy.  He will deliver us.  He will forgive us.  He wants us to come to Him for these things, and so He will not turn us away.

No matter how big or overwhelming it all seems, God is much bigger than whatever it is we are so distressed about.  And even though God is so big and whatever we struggle with seems too small for Him to pay attention to, He cares so much with a sweet tenderness about our hurts and our sorrows.  He doesn’t shy away from those things or cast them off as insignificant, because we are so precious to Him.  We matter to Him, and so our struggles matter to Him.

David was never afraid to cry out to God with all that was within him.  He was often very raw and very open about whatever he was struggling with.  He faced pain and hardship in his life.  He faced real danger and betrayal and loss.  But in the midst of all of that was a God who was very personal to David and a God he leaned on with all his heart.  And we can do the same thing.  We can have that very close relationship with our Lord that allows us to bring to Him every bit of our heart and soul.

Life is hard, and trials come, and God understands that.  He is not unaware of our circumstances, and He is not too far off to come and help us in them.  Let us go to Him, then, unhindered and honest, no matter how ugly it may seem, and lay it at His feet.  He will show us compassion.  He will be very kind to us in the midst of these kinds of situations in our lives.  And when we allow Him into these dark places, His grace comes with Him and His love and mercy, and that makes such a difference.  It changes everything.  So let’s not be shy about crying out to God whenever we need Him near.