Everything Hurts
Author:
June 16, 2020
By now, many of us know about the tragic events that led to the death of Mr. George Floyd. It was a slow and torturous death, as approximately 200 pounds of pressure was applied to his neck while the full weight of two more men applied to the rest of his body. Another officer callously addressed the crowd who persisted in their requests for mercy for Floyd. Mr. Floyd pleaded for his life, told the officers that he could not breathe and cried out for his deceased mother. Some of the last words we could hear him say were, “Everything hurts.”
Everything hurts.
Those words stuck in my mind because they not only remind me of the tragic and untimely murder of Mr. George Floyd but also of the suffocating nature of racism, hatred, and injustice. Everything hurts because racism is a sin that has hurt nearly everything as we know it, especially in the US. We continue to have varied expressions of racial disparities in so many areas, an imbalanced criminal justice system, a toxic political discourse, dog whistle politics and a multitude of false narratives that were created to justify a continual barrage of injustice. In this moment, it seems like everyone is hurting. The world is hurting, as evidenced through the largest global protest that has ever taken place. Communities, churches, families and individuals are hurting. Even those who are racist, or who continue to oppose justice, are hurting because they have been deceived to think that sin and injustice are okay.
When everything hurts, only God has the power to heal all that is hurting.
What does God do when everything hurts? Does He care? Is He even paying attention? In the book of Exodus, chapters 1 and 2 record the pains and injustices of a people who had been helpful to the building of the society that they were living in. The Israelites were being oppressed by the Egyptians. They were living in an unjust society for approximately 400 years. They were crying out for mercy and for help; and those who had the power to do something did nothing. But, God heard their cry. He did not just hear their cry; He also remembered the promises he made to their forefathers. He saw what they were going through. Then, the scripture in Exodus 2:25, says that God, “…knew it was time to act.”
When everything hurts, God acts on behalf of the hurting.
But how? God was ready to act. Speaking from a burning bush to a man named Moses, He says “I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land…” (3:8) But then, something changes. Instead of God intervening directly, He says to Moses, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.” (vs.10) It is very clear that the main way God addresses injustice is through a human vessel.
When everything hurts, God acts on behalf of the hurting through you.
God would work through Moses to lead the people out of the daily injustices of oppression and life. Likewise, God is ready to use you! Right now, many of us are hurting, upset, and frustrated about a system that continues to allow for the oppression of black and brown people. There’s a whole list of women and men who have died long before their time because of the systemic racism that has been a part of the USA even before the creation of the USA. Right now, many of our hearts have been stirred. God is moving through you. He has stirred your heart. You are the Moses for this generation. Allow God to use you. Go where He sends you. Do what He tells you. Let God work through you to heal the hurts that are all around you. He can heal all hurts, but it starts through you.
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