A Prescription for Pain

It's everywhere...

I'm talking about pain. Do you see it in the lives of people around you? It is the evidence of a world gone wild, a world filled with every symptom of sin, sin that is busily destroying lives. Any resemblance to the Eden home has become nothing more than a shadow. Oh, people try to find something good to hold on to. But the pain is always there, always dragging another person into its lair.

Someone's daughter is physically falling apart - doctors suspect multiple sclerosis. Someone's son is suffering the demons of depression. Someone's husband has left her for another. Someone is nearing the final stages of his life as he watches his bodily functions disintegrate in front of his eyes. Someone's mother has fallen and has a broken hip. Someone's friend is losing a son.

So many someones...

My heart goes out to these people, perhaps more so because I have experienced pain in my life. I feel like a medic on the battle field, dodging exploding shells as I try to reach as many injured and dying - trying to see if I can save at least one. You see, I have been the target of the enemy, and I have felt the pain of his darts. And I also know what it feels like to receive the salve of God's presence. While the pain may linger, just knowing that I am not alone is enough to help me hang on - even if it is just for a few more moments.

Jesus knows our pain - He has experienced it. He knows that the enemy would love to destroy us just to get at Him. But He also reminds us, "I have overcome the world." He didn't say that our pain would be removed. He didn't promise a bubble to live in that would separate us from the rest of the world. No, He said that we would have pain. But in spite of the pain, He would bring us peace. Peace through the storm, not apart from the storm.

Perhaps you are experiencing pain in your life. Odds are that you are either just getting over a painful period, just entering a time of pain, or will meet your own time of trial and pain in the near future. With the world the way it is, that would be a safe bet. And if you are in the midst of pain, what I have to say might seem superficial and patronizing. That's why I am not going to give my advice. All I can do is point you to the Person who came to me when I thought I couldn't take any more - when death would have been a welcome friend. When the pain was the most intense, that is when He held me most tightly in His arms.

So although pain is everywhere, God is there too. He says, "Let me go through this time with you - together we can survive everything that the devil will throw at us. And someday - oh, that glorious someday - all tears and pain will be wiped away forever!"

I am waiting for that day - it's coming soon!

God bless you abundantly!