I Know You Are Hurting (Spend Time with DaD)

By Diann Duby

With tiny wrinkles and cries, he entered the world, and wrapped in strips of cloth, he took his first nap on a bed of straw. Subject to time and to parents, he grew to manhood, his gentle hands becoming strong and calloused in Joseph’s woodworking shop.

As a man, he walked through the countryside and city, touching individuals, preaching to crowds, and training twelve men to carry on His work. Throughout His journey here, He would seek Daily Direction with the Heavenly Father. At every step, he was hounded by those seeking to rid the world of His influence. Jesus continued to stay focused on his purpose.

Finally, falsely accused and tried, He was condemned to a disgraceful execution, and He died, spat upon, cursed, pierced by nails, and hung heavenward for all to ridicule and scorn, treated like He was worthless.

If there is anyone in the world (and He was in the world) who knows how you feel, it is Jesus. He has walked your walk, He knows your hurt, and He decided to take one more walk for you, and that was straight to the cross. He overcame the world and all its insults and hurts and sin, and now through the Bible, He wants to sit with you and tell you how to stay focused on the promises of the Bible. We all have a purpose in this world, and that is to share the Gospel with others.

You need Daily Direction. He knows because He has been there. Jesus would seek Daily Direction throughout his journey here on earth. He approached the Heavenly Father daily, whether it was going off by Himself praying or speaking and encouraging the crowds and pointing them to the Father.

It is the author’s hope and prayer that you use the Bible references at the end of each chapter to strengthen your personal relationship with your Heavenly Father as Jesus did. When all is said and done, it is still all about Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638147312

Book preview

Running on Empty

As I write this book, I look around me, and I see many hurting people. General Motors is on strike. Families are without steady paychecks. My best friend’s daughter, who was diagnosed with cancer, works for General Motors, and there is concern she may be losing her insurance and will be unable to keep up her treatments. I look around and wonder how they are handling things on the inside. Days can get worrisome, attitudes can become defeated, and dreams can be crushed. How do we stay hopeful, positive, and determined to overcome? How do we persevere through tough times without running on empty? We need to seek Daily Direction from God’s Word for guidance, strength, and encouragement.

I go to work every day and work with people that I not only consider coworkers but friends. I have worked with some of them for twenty to forty-plus years. We have formed an amazing bond of friendship, respect, and love. I cherish these friendships and consider them a blessing from God.

One Friday, as we arrived at work, we were standing around visiting while waiting to clock in. We were laughing and sharing happenings from the night before. We got our cleaning carts stocked and proceeded to our assigned areas to start our cleaning duties. The morning went pretty much as usual, tidying up rooms and greeting the residents. Around midmorning, a coworker approached me looking like she had just lost her best friend. Did you hear? she asked. I was afraid to hear what she was going to tell me. I could see the hurt in her eyes. I noticed her bottom lip quiver as she tried to speak. She continued to explain to me that management approached three of our long-term coworkers and instructed them to gather their belongings from their desk drawers and lockers then proceeded to walk them out of the building. As word spread throughout the building, we went to each other for support. We realized this was happening with other companies in the area, but here and now, this became a reality for us, and we were all in shock. This was such a great loss for us. How could this be happening? How do we persevere through this tough time? We all felt so empty.

I needed to go off alone to spend time with our Heavenly Father. I was hurting so bad and didn’t know what to say or do. I was confused, and I needed His love, comfort, and direction. I knew my friends and coworkers had not been treated fairly. They were dedicated employees who gave their all for this company, and to have this be the way their working career ended just didn’t seem fair. I talked with our Heavenly Father and expressed all my concerns to Him. I wanted Him to intervene to make it stop. I didn’t know how to let these three people realize how much we all valued them. They were so special, and their years of service touched so many lives. How do I make a difference and let them know their years of service were not in vain? I felt empty, confused, and hurt. I knew my coworkers had to be dealing with these feelings as well. As anger and rage started to take over my thoughts, I knew I needed Daily Direction from our Heavenly Father to face this situation. I needed help. Have you ever experienced times like this?

At another point in my life, I had to deal with the suicide of a friend. Why did my friend feel like she couldn’t take being here on this earth anymore? What did I miss that I didn’t see how bad she was hurting? There were over three hundred people at her funeral. Why didn’t she feel loved? Why couldn’t one of us reach her? She was running on empty, and we didn’t even know it. I had so many questions with no answers. We all have hurts and scars. Have you ever experienced times like this?

Again, I needed to spend time with our Heavenly Father. I needed to share my hurt, anguish, and inadequacies of not being able to help her and give her hope. As I sat there contemplating all this, I needed some Daily Direction. I wanted Him to intervene and make things better. I know everyone has choices to make, and I was reaching out to Him for answers. I asked for forgiveness for not seeing the signs. I was so busy in my own life, and I just didn’t keep in touch. Through His Word, our Heavenly Father reminded me that He has intervened. He intervened by sending Jesus, His Son, to take all our insecurities, sins, and unbelief to the cross. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV). I realize I can’t save anybody. He reminded me that job is not available. It has already been assigned to His Son, our Savior, Jesus.

As I study His Word, I have been moved to write this book. He has seen the hurts throughout the world. He knows his children are hurting, and He does care. His Word is full of scripture that speak to us and points to Him. In Psalm 139, it shows how the Heavenly Father knows us perfectly, far beyond our knowledge of ourselves. He