Writing to Those Who are Crushed and Hurting

by Martin Wiles @LinesFromGod

I had read many papers, but the crushing she described stood out.

Unfortunately, teachers don’t always have the opportunity to get involved in the details of their students’ lives. And I hadn’t in hers. She was a new student who had transferred in from another school. I rarely saw her talking to her peers, and I’m not sure she had said one word to me in the first nine weeks after she arrived at our school. But then, I read her story.

One assignment entailed the students writing about an event that had impacted their lives. A few wrote about sports. A few more about their grandparents dying. One penned a story about a family squabble and a resulting death. Another noted how losing a pet had impacted him. More than I imagined wrote about broken families. Another new student told why he had come to our school—bad behavior at his previous school. He was glad for another chance.

But this one student talked about her parents’ divorce. She was six when she witnessed her dad pack his suitcase and leave. At that age, she lost a dad and her best friend. Because her mom was in the military, the moves that followed took her far away from her dad, giving her few opportunities to see him during the year. Now, as a teen, she still felt the weight of the crushing. 

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed” (Psalm 34:18 NLT).

David, too, felt crushing times. When one of his own sons rebelled and took the kingdom from him—chasing him out of town in the process. When a jealous king tried to kill him. And when he felt the weight of his sins against God. 

Most of us writers have been crushed numerous times, which gives us fodder to share. And I just imagine that most if not all our readers have experienced a few crushings as well. They may even be crushed as they read our devotions, articles, and books. After all, the world is a cruel place. And the writing and publishing worlds are punishing places, too. If our readers are writers, they’ve probably received more rejections than they care to think about. Above all else, we’re all crushed because we live in a sinful world gone awry. 

Many of our life’s crushings come from events we cannot control. The world throws us a curve ball. Nature behaves unruly. Others reject or harm us. 

Regardless, God is there for us during the crushings, and he gives us writers the privilege of comforting and encouraging others through our crushings. Occasionally, God even designs a particular piece we write to be only for us—the balm for our troubled souls. Self-catharsis.

When I finished reading my young student’s story—and wiping the tears from my eyes—I emailed her back, told her how glad I was that she had shared her story, and reminded her that God will help us through our life-crushing experiences. Writing about her crushing helped me that day. 

Crushings are a part of life, but God will walk us through each one if we reach out and take his hand. And as a writer, God will use you to help many through their crushings. Don’t ever forget you are writing to the crushed. 

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Writing to Those Who are Crushed and Hurting from author Martin Wiles, @LinesFromGod, on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Martin Wiles is the founder of Love Lines from God (WWW.LOVELINESFROMGOD.COM) and serves as Managing Editor for Christian Devotions and Directing Editor for VineWords. He has authored six books and has been published in numerous publications. His most recent book, DON'T JUST LIVE...REALLY LIVE, debuted in October of 2021. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, author, and pastor.