Don't Waste Your Pain

One of satan's most tempting seductive lies:


YOU ARE ALONE IN YOUR SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE

somehow everyone else's life is easy and you are the only one with this issue.
He wants you to question "where is God in my life?!"
"Doesn't he care?"

Do you ever think about your pain and your prayers as something that isn't as bad as so-and-so's pain or problems so you shouldn't be bothering God...

He has MUCH more important things to think about than Friday afternoon at 3 pm in your household where you are in pain and you think to yourself, "I don't need to pray. I'm bothering the Lord. I mean there was just a huge earthquake in Japan, or my neighbor is dying, or a pastor is in jail for sharing the Lord."

God has sooo much going on.

My prayers are insignificant.

My pain is insignificant.

Although in your mind it is miserable what you are going through, you still feel as if you don't deserve the attention of the Lord God, Creator of the universe, as if He stopped being the lover of your heart!

God most frequent command in the Bible is...

Do. Not. Fear.

This may seem way off in left field but trust me, it ties in completely with our prayer life.
God reminds His people, His children, that they have no need to fear because He is in control.

When I say, "Don't fear." to my child I am trying to reassure them that it's ok.
But completely different is when God says, "Do not be afraid," and then says, "MY peace I give to you." John 14:27

Why? He is sovereign over everything that happens to you!

So we can truly know it will be ok! It's in His hands and He has us.
Because He hears us and knows us soooooo well, He tells us constantly not to fear.

He speaks to the DETAILS of your LIFE. He KNOWS you so WELL and LOVES you so MUCH!

So bring your pain, your frustration, your suffering, your fear before our Almighty Lord and see Him work!

See Him bring you peace that surpasses your understanding.

See Him draw you close to Him during your pain.

See Him give you compassion for others.

He doesn't hear your prayer....compare it to others...and then hand out a number based on which is more important.

He is for you!
His love for you is an everlasting love.
Turn that around and give Him praise! He is worthy of our worship!

Oh and P.S.
Say a prayer for others too who have pain, who have lost someone, who are discouraged, who you don't even know halfway around the world being persecuted for Christ!



Thank you God that you care about our deepest needs!
Help us not to fear, but to bring you our burdens and leave them there at the cross. You are so good to us, your bride. Help us in our unbelief. 

Ouch! On Christmas I burned my right hand on the stove. It really hurt! We've all been there. Fire is very beautiful but...oh how it can burn. This fire that burns so hot is also so great in refining...We can put gold and silver into the fire to refine it, to take out the impurities and make it more pure. In comparison the Bible describes us being refined in the fire (Psalm 66:10). God purposely places us, His dearly loved children, in the fire of affliction, pain, despair...etc. Why? What could be His purpose? Well if we look at what fire does to gold we see the Master's purpose-it refines us, makes us more like Him, less like ourselves and our sinful nature. How does it do that exactly?
I'm sure you can attest to times in your life, maybe recently, that you have been in terrible pain, like the affliction will never end. You may have continually gone to the Lord, seeking comfort. You see, God may want to wake you up out of your complacency! It may have been awhile since you noticed the Lord or prayed to Him. Getting our eyes off of ourselves and onto Christ is a huge reason for the refinement. Zechariah 13:9 answers this:

Merry Christmas to you. I know it is a hard time of year for those of us with chronic pain...All the shopping, interacting, demands on us, etc. It can become overwhelming. Tonight I want to reconnect you with the meaning of our lives...this baby, this God-man, our Savior-Immanuel who is God with us.
I love Spurgeon. If you've never read his works I highly suggest you break open a book by him. He loved the Lord and brings God freshly to life! I have included a part of one of his sermons for your reflection. I pray your Christmas is pain free, but if it is not, I pray your eyes stay on our Immanuel.

Here is the link. My favorite part is when he says,

"God with us," is the sufferer's comfort, is the balm of his woe, is the alleviation of his misery, is the sleep which God gives to His beloved, is their rest after exertion and toil.

God bless you!

An evidence that our will has been broken is that we begin to thank God for that which once seemed so bitter, knowing that His will is good and that, in His time and in His way, He is able to make the most bitter waters sweet.
-Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Thanking God in times of pain is so hard. How can we tell God, "Thank you for this cancer," or "Thank you for my child having leukemia." It is only after we reflect on the joyful suffering that Christ displayed on the cross that we get to understand what this suffering looks like. Christ chose to suffer and die on the cross for sinners like me. Hebrews 12:2b says, "for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross." Let this verse really sink in. The God who is Holy, omniscient, perfect, loving came down to this earth to live a sinless death and died a sinner's death, taking your place and mine, so we can have His righteousness! Glory be to God. He calls us to take up our cross daily and follow Him.

That means all that we go through, the good, the bad, the hard times, the sickness, etc...we take it all to Him. Bring it to His feet and give Him all the glory! People are watching our lives to see how we act when we suffer. Are you going to display Christ for them to see so He gets the glory? Or are you going to complain and grumble that God allowed you to be in pain? Whether we are in pain or not we are to give Him the glory! He deserves our praise!

Don't waste your Pain!