Embrace The Pain

Embrace the Pain In many ways, I feel as though I am not the one who should be writing this article, for I have been tested with but matches, not serious fire. However, I have been learning a lesson, which if applied to every circumstance of life, will release God’s power within us, resulting in grace, joy and victory in every situation. Christianity has historically held a dichotomous view of the world. God is on one side and the devil on the other. Modern prosperity and health doctrines, which have permeated much of American Christianity, teach that God desires that we be healthy and prosper, but Satan, like a thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. Therefore, everything “good” in our life must come from God, but everything “bad” must come from Satan. Even if one does not subscribe to the full philosophy, there is still the subtlety that the “bad” is not of God. Since it is God’s will that we be healthy, sickness must not be his will. Since it is God’s will that we prosper, lost income or business difficulties must not be his will. Accordingly, we view these trials and tribulations as an enemy to be defeated and overcome. However, the reality is that no matter how much faith a person has, the sick are not always healed. Regardless of how faithful one is in tithing, sometimes there are reversals in fortune. No matter how many demons we cast out, some people remain afflicted with mental or emotional struggles. If one follows through on the logic of the popular view, something is wrong and somehow, Satan has the upper hand. We may not voice this, but for whatever reason, God has not prevailed (yet). The result then, may be guilt for not having more faith, anger at God for not giving us the victory, disenchantment with Christianity or resignation to a powerless, mediocre religion which promises much, but delivers little in this world. In science, a hypothesis (statement of belief) is presented and then tested. If the results, following a series of tests, do not match the hypothesis, one revises the hypothesis and retests until a hypothesis is shown to be true by the results. Faith, of course, is not science. However, a principal exists which is applicable to both. If the results of a particular doctrine do not bear the fruit one would expect, then perhaps the doctrine is flawed and needs to be revisited. Perhaps there is an error in a basic assumption which has resulted in “failure” of our faith. Implicit in popular theology is that all which we consider “bad” is not of God and therefore should be opposed. It is precisely here that I believe we have erred. In attributing “badness” as our enemy, we may find ourselves not fighting Satan, but in fact fighting God. Does not Romans 8:28 say, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose?” According to this scripture, God is working—either in the background or the foreground—to work all things for our good. Before I go any further, let me address who this applies to, lest you think of yourself as an exception. At first glance, it may appear that there are two criteria for this to apply: 1) you must love God, and 2) you must be called according to his purpose. Let me start with the second one because it is universal. In context, we see that God has called everyone of us with the purpose of being justified and glorified (Rom. 8:29-30). All Christians meet this criteria by definition. Therefore, being called according to his purpose is not a requirement on our part, but a statement of fact of what God has already done. This leaves but one requirement for the Christian: those who love God. Books have been written on what it means to love God and I could quote many different scriptures pointing out various aspects of what loving God means and entails. At a basic level, one could ask, “Is it possible even to be a Christian and not love God?” I will sidestep even that question because the solution to the theological problem necessitates that one love God. That is, you cannot accept and act upon my proposed answer without loving God.

If, as Romans 8 says, God works all things together for our good, should we not thank God for all things? James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds….” (James 1:2). Paul tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thes. 5:18). Not only does Paul tell us to be thankful in all things, but also “always giving thanks to God for everything.” (Eph. 5:20). (emphasis added). According to these scriptures, there is not a single circumstance, person or thing which comes into our life that we should not thank God for. The source of the “problem” is irrelevant when it comes to giving thanks. It does not mater if the trial is caused by people, “accidents” or evil. Joseph’s life was plagued with injustices caused by the evil actions of other people. Yet, years later Joseph was able to forgive his brothers and declare that what they had intended for harm, God intended for good (Gen. 50:20). A man was born blind but Jesus said it was for God’s glory. (Yes, he was healed, but he lived 40 years before receiving the touch of God.) Paul was given “a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Its purpose was good: that Paul would learn that God’s grace was sufficient and God’s power was made perfect in weakness. In fact, Paul said, “I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (passages from II Cor. 12:7-10). Even evil becomes God’s tool for good in our lives and the lives of others. Perhaps most difficult to see this principal is when the trials are not the result of some external source, but our own sin or folly. We tend to believe that our failures are beyond God’s redemption, but this is not true. Moses murdered and spent years in the desert as a result, but it was preparatory time in his life to effect God’s deliverance of His people. David’s adulterous relationship with Bathsheba gave birth to Solomon, one of the wisest individuals to have lived. Sampson’s foolishness and lust led to imprisonment, yet God still used this to accomplish an even greater end. Adam’s sin, which resulted in the fall of the entire human race, ultimately brought about the greatest expression of God’s love and the redemption of mankind. When our own sin results in the suffering of others, we cannot rejoice in this, but we can embrace the knife that cuts into our own soul as the pruning that God wants to do in our self. It becomes his tool for changing us. For this we can thank him and in this we can rejoice. I read of a woman who was bedridden with a disease for years. Yet, she so displayed the grace of God that people were drawn to Christ because of how she endured her illness. Millions of people have been touched and ministered to by quadriplegic Joni Erickson-Toda. What is the likelihood that she would have blessed so many lives had it not been for her “accident?” If you live with this attitude, you cannot but help love God. Thanksgiving flowing from the heart engenders love. In this act, the love of God becomes ever so real. The great expression of God’s love for us becomes experiential as we realize and understand “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38). My first experience with this line of thought occurred several months ago. I was experiencing pain deep in my right elbow and lower right arm. It hurt even to carry a book. Over a matter of weeks, the pain intensified and spread to the other arm. I made plans to visit the doctor after we returned from vacation. In the mean time, not telling anyone, I decided to thank God for my condition on the belief that God would work this for my good. I thanked God that I had the privilege in some small way of bearing in my body the death of Jesus that the life of Jesus may be manifested. I thanked God every time I felt the pain. Then, a couple weeks later, I noticed it was gone. I do not know if God healed me, if it would have naturally gone away or even if it had anything to do with my gratefulness. Nor did I thank God with the expectation of relief. However, I thank God that it did leave and I will thank Him if it returns. I have a relationship with someone who occasionally says things which hurt me and with which I tend to respond in anger. When I was contemplating the situation in prayer, I felt God telling me to “Embrace the pain.” By this, I understood him to mean to accept the pain and thank him for the person and circumstances that lead to the pain, realizing that its purpose for me was good.

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When I started to do this, the hurt and hardness and anger in my heart began to melt away and be replaced by love. Recently, I was experiencing what seemed to be a prolonged period of dryness in my prayer life. As I shared this with a friend, I was reminded that God works all things for my good, even this dryness. I immediately began to thank God for it and was overcome by a sense of His Grace. These are but a few experiences I have had in which the power of God was released by my gratefulness. I am well aware that in the larger scheme of life, these are but minor incidents. God has not yet tested me with major trials and therefore I do not mean to presume or imply that thanksgiving will come or even should come easily in all circumstances. Many circumstances require a mourning or grieving period. They require us to experience the depths of despair before we can experience the ecstasy of grace. Experiences such as rape, wrongful imprisonment, torture, death of a child cannot be overcome by glossing over the pain with a smile. Hence, the title of my paper, “Embrace the pain.” Embracing the pain is a process of coming to accept all experiences as God-given for a long term good. In order to fully experience God’s healing and strength and grace, we must come to the point of giving thanks for all things. Giving thanks is not just a trite “Thank you.” It is not a word or in any way a surface expression. It is not a magical formula to attain relief. True thanks is an expression of faith at the deepest level, whether relief comes or not. It is a genuine gratefulness for whatever trial we have had or are experiencing. There is not an expectation of deliverance, but an expectation of God’s Grace in the midst of it. It is a joyful knowing that God is doing something good in your life, whether you can see it or not. This may sound good on a theoretical basis, but how does one thank God for apparently senseless tragedies, such as an innocent death or meaningless pain, such as migraines? Coming from one who has not walked in your shoes, my proposition may sound preposterous. Giving thanks is a step of faith that God will use the pain for good. You may need to relate it to sharing in the death of Jesus in your life so that his life may be revealed in your life (II Cor 4:10). It may be helpful to think that one day your experience may be a help and comfort to others (II Cor. 1:3-4). Perhaps God is wanting to cut away the rough edges to help you mature (James 1:4). In many instances we may not know why, but must thank him out of faith that he is working it for our good. I am not suggesting in any way that one should seek trials or intentionally put or keep oneself in an abusive situation. Nor am I suggesting that prayer for healing or deliverance, medical treatment or counseling should be avoided. On the contrary, I am merely suggesting that we rejoice in the midst of life—which consists of both “good and “evil.” Furthermore, this does not mean that we merely accept things as they are without effort to change. God says we are overcomers. He says that we are to fight evil and injustice. We are not to rejoice in other people’s difficulties, only our own. We are to seek health and well being. But, in the midst of the battle, we should thank God even for the battle because of what he is working to accomplish in our life and the lives of others. Therefore, I propose that we not view illnesses, problems and other trials as our opponents, but as gifts from God to help us grow. Embrace the pain, be thankful in all things and be of good cheer, for you, as joint-heir with Christ, have overcome the world. Wayne McDaniel May, 2003

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