Monica works in a job that requires physically assisting the movement of elderly people, many of which are in the rehabilitation homes she works in due to physical incapacitation. As a physical therapist, she’s often tasked with assisting very unstable, insecure folks with common tasks that we all tend to take for granted, like getting up out of a chair or walking to the bathroom. It’s not uncommon for her patients to outweigh her twofold. This puts her at a disadvantage when the nervous unpredictability of an elderly person strikes without warning. The result is often an injury of some sort, which is exactly what happened recently. Now she’s holed up in her home for a week or two with a back injury, tolerating minimal activity. Ugh.
A few days after the incident, I called her up to see how her recovery was going. She’s a trooper, but she’s not trying to be a hero by going back to work right away. Her wisdom has won her over, which is what I wanted to hear. It was during that conversation that she said something that made me want to write this blog. She said, “I don’t want to take pain medicine, even though the doctor repeatedly offered to prescribe it, because I want to feel the pain. Pain is what tells me about my injury and where I stand regarding my healing.” I immediately said, “That reminds me of the pain we feel in the spiritual life.” She agreed. So, I’m sharing our thoughts here.
The Bible teaches us that God uses suffering to sanctify us.
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
— Romans 5:3-5
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
— 2 Timothy 3:12
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
— 1 Peter 5:10
Living for Christ guarantees we will suffer. In fact, the Bible teaches us that if we attempt to skirt this aspect of our lives we are thwarting the very means by which God sanctifies us (sets us apart for His good purposes)! My friends, that’s the very last thing we want to partake in. The glory is in sanctification, something God allows us to play a part in. But, we must endure this crucible - our life is a blessed opportunity to glorify God. We may not ask for pain, necessarily, but when it comes our way, we must do as Monica does with physical pain - accept it, endure it, and ultimately give thanks for it.
Before we hung up, we wrapped up the phone conversation with one final thought worth sharing here. We imagined what life would be like in the absence of pain, whether physical or spiritual. We reflected upon a blog I wrote years ago about CIPA (congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis), a disease which renders a person incapable of feeling pain, resulting in unintentional self-mutilation. As much as we don’t like experiencing pain, it’s a blessing in disguise. As with anything, with proper perspective, we learn to give thanks to God for it.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
— James 1:2-4
I really couldn’t summarize the point of this blog any better than James has done above. I’ll leave you with this, though. Receive pain the way God intended. It’s the hallmark of illness, whether physical or spiritual. It indicates to us that something is wrong. In the absence of it, we’d surely self-destruct, not only injuring ourselves, but also those around us. We are called to endure pain to the glory of God (makes me think of the Cross). Attempting to architect an existence void of it is missing the point altogether - self-medicating isn’t the answer (I’m not suggesting we never take meds, so please don’t miss the point).
God never gives us more than we are capable of handling, by grace through faith. My encouragement to you is that you stand up and face the pain you’re experiencing with divine perspective. Grit your teeth if you must, but just know that God is working something out in you that you may not even be able to put into words - you might be so blinded by the pain in the moment that simply clinging to faith in His promises is your salvation (this should always be enough - it is if you trust Him).
God loves you more than you know. You are His child, after all. A good father may cringe at the thought of it, but his love allows suffering to take its course, to the benefit of his beloved children. How much greater is our Father in Heaven than any we’ve come to know on Earth? How much greater is His love? If you’re in pain, there’s a reason for it. Embrace it, endure it, and be sanctified to the glory of God.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
— Romans 8:28
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
