Those who take God into their pain, find it leads to life. The pain we experience may have come from an evil source but the question is not so much “Where has it come from?” but “Where is it going?” The choice is ours. We need to allow ourselves to be guided to life rather than death.

Our pain may be mental, emotional or physical. Some things that happened to Jesus were not good. Satan tried to tempt and destroy Jesus. God brought the world’s greatest good out of the world’s worst crime. So don’t ask for life to be just. Instead ask for God’s help to turn every pain into a pearl.

The same thing can happen to two different people but the effect on them may be quite different. It all depends on their attitude don’t have to live with is a fear of failure.

1 – The wrong ways to deal with pain

Some turn to various things rather than God but these prove futile. Some examples are:-

• Literature.
• Nature.
• Science.
• Drink.
• Art.
• Self pity.
• Sexual experiences.
• Suicide.

Some of these things may help for a time but ultimately without understanding God’s grace the pain can be difficult to deal with. Dark moods of depression can lead to drinking and perhaps suicide.

2 – The pain we feel

There are a number of ways we can experience pain in our lives. Some examples are:-

• Loneliness.
• Unanswered prayer.
• Bereavement.
• Spiritual thirst.
• Guilt.
• Childhood deprivation.
• Shattered dreams.
• Wrong thoughts.
• Physical pain.

The list can be a very long one but in particular we want to look at physical pain. Some people have to live with it on a permanent basis.

3 – Understanding pain

There is no crystal-clear answer as to why pain is part of God’s universe. The best explanation might be that God knew that Adam and Eve would fall and built into them the warning system of pain. This would alert them to the things that could go wrong with their bodies. It was after the Adam and Eve fell into sin that they suffered sin and their bodies fell prey to deterioration.

Some people feel that God should have given us a switch so that we could turn off the pain. If that was the case most people would turn it off permanently! The human race could have been wiped out if there was no pain. With pain we seek medical help as we are fearful that we will die.

Jesus suffered more than any other human. This helps more than words can convey. It is good to know that our dear Saviour promises to be with us always and knows exactly what we are going through. He can enter into our condition because He has been in our condition.

4 – Anchors for the soul when in pain

Here are some anchors for the soul in the midst of pain:-

• Pain has a positive function.
• We must always be willing to admit we are experiencing pain. Don’t pretend you are not otherwise you will feel guilty.
• Unless pain is working to some end it breaks us by its meaninglessness. Make pain productive by bringing it to God and letting Him turn it into His purposes. As in the pain of childbirth, God can bring forth new life from your pain.
• There are depths in our soul that sometimes only pain enables God to reach. Enduring pain is hard going but the benefits far outweigh the cost.
• The experience of pain always forces us to make a choice. The choice is whether we will try to handle it ourselves or turn it over to God and let Him guide our pain.

5 – Conclusion

So it isn’t always good to feel good! Sometimes the soul has a difficult time opening up to what God wants to achieve within it, unless it is freed to do so by pain. When we see what it has accomplished we will forever thank Him. We emerge a better person if God is allowed to guide the pain. However, one day we will live in a pain-free place.

Categories: 2 Corinthians