By Mark Adcock
You have probably heard the old expression “No pain, no gain.”
When it comes to clichés, we seem to have several that speak to the challenges of pain and suffering. Another that comes to mind is, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”
While there is some truth attached to these sayings, we probably all can agree that we simply don’t relish the idea of walking through seasons of pain.
The last 15 months have been, for many of us, a season of pain. While some have lost loved ones, all of us who have endured this last season can relate to the concept of pain.
As a Christian, I am thankful God has a purpose, even in our pain.
Perhaps you have heard the C.S. Lewis quote, “God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our pain.” If you are going through pain, take some time to listen to what God is saying to you. When James tells us to “count it all joy when (we) meet trials of every kind,” he is helping us to realize that even in our trials and pain, God is at work growing us to be the people that He calls us to be.
That passage goes on to say that the trial that God allows will test our faith. Pain is a gut-check. It begs the question, “Will you trust God even when life hurts?”
Certainly James 1:2-8 has much to teach us when pain begins to challenge our experience. James even tells us that if we lack wisdom about the trial we face, we should ask God who gives answers generously to those who have faith in Him.
To overcome pain, we must persevere. And if we persevere, God will use our pain to grow us to be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
But none of us like pain. In fact, we often become paralyzed by pain.
For the past 15 years or so, I have had to deal with rheumatoid arthritis. Over time the pain has become more and more intense. In the last year I have come to the place of not wanting to do things that cause pain. Walking and exercise have become extremely painful.
But over the past couple of months I came to realize that if I don’t push through the pain, I will eventually be paralyzed. To choose to persevere and move through the pain has been a hard choice to make. I don’t like to hurt. But, to give in to my pain does not afford me a future.
Recently a doctor has told me, “When you fight through the pain and exercise, it forces blood to those joints, which brings healing.” So, for the past few weeks I have been walking three miles a day. And thankfully, I have been seeing my pain diminish.
Persevere! You must push through the pain to get to the gain. God is at work growing you to be the person He wants you to be.
Finally, pain comes in many forms. Not only does physical pain challenge us, so does emotional pain and spiritual pain. Persevere and push forward.
Realize that what blood is to the physical body, grace is to the soul. When we apply grace to our emotional and spiritual places of pain, grace heals. May God’s grace bring healing and hope to your soul!
