06/01/2026
Healing didn’t arrive all at once for me. It came slowly, quietly, and often in ways I didn’t recognize at first. There were days when the pain felt isolating, when I carried grief that couldn’t be explained or fixed by words. I learned quickly that loneliness doesn’t always mean being physically alone sometimes it’s the feeling that no one can fully step into the depth of what your heart is carrying.
In those moments, I discovered something sacred. When I had no strength left to perform faith, no energy to offer polished prayers, God did not pull away. Instead, He drew closer. He revealed Himself to me as Emmanuel God with us not as a concept or a verse, but as a living presence in my pain.
There were nights when silence felt heavy and mornings when getting out of bed required more courage than I wanted to admit. I questioned why healing felt so slow and why God seemed quiet. But looking back, I realize He wasn’t absent. He was steady. He was with me in the waiting, in the confusion, and in the ache that didn’t have an expiration date.
Healing, I’ve learned, is not about forgetting what hurt you or pretending the wound never existed. It is about allowing God to meet you exactly where you are, without shame or pressure to “move on.”He does not rush the process. He sits with you. He allows the tears. He understands the weight of loss, disappointment, and unanswered prayers.
In my pain, God didn’t offer quick fixes or shallow comfort. He offered Himself. His presence became the place where I could breathe again. Slowly, trust began to rebuild not because everything was resolved, but because I knew I wasn’t carrying it alone anymore.
There were moments when I felt broken beyond repair, but even then, He reminded me that brokenness is not the end of the story. God does some of His deepest work in the hidden places of our lives, where no one else sees the struggle. He met me there, not to erase the pain, but to walk through it with me.
Healing is still unfolding. Some days are lighter, others still heavy. But now I know this truth with certainty even when I feel alone in my pain, I am never abandoned. God is present in every step, every tear, every quiet prayer whispered through exhaustion.
Emmanuel is not just a name I believe in He is the God who stayed with me when I didn’t know how to stay strong. And that presence has been the beginning of true healing.
✍️Joy Christin Johnson
