When I was a child I often believed that loving the Lord meant I wouldn’t experience pain. The truth, however, there is no way for us to get around the sensation of pain or hurt. Once we realized that avoiding pain is inevitable our focus shifts from no pain to learning how to get through the pain. The way we deal with the hurt that we are experiencing will determine the end result, whether we will have victory or continue to suffer. A little over a month ago the Lord spoke to me about pain.
I woke up one morning with a stiff neck. My first reaction was to move it as little as possible. I actually thought it was somewhat hilarious that I had to turn my whole body just to talk to people. Well, about a day later my stiff neck turned into an aching pain. The pain felt unbearable. I soon realized that whenever I turned my head to the right side of my body, I received a pain in my neck that made me stop moving until the pain passed.
Once I figured out what caused the pain, my reaction again was to avoid turning my head to that side of my body. I thought I was out witting the pain! I soon realized there was no way for me to get around the pain. The movement from everyday task such as walking up the stairs caused my neck to hurt. Each time I experienced the pain I couldn’t walk for at least a minute or more until the pain passed.
I decided to research how to get rid of the pain in my neck. All of the research I found suggested that I move my neck through the pain to loosen the neck muscle. My first thought was this is crazy, there is no way I can move my neck with the amount of pain I am feeling. I was fearful of facing the pain. I also wondered if the pain would increase through the movement. I had no other options; I had a lot of things I needed to get done around the house. I had to try moving my neck.
When I first started I moved my neck timidly. I was still hoping that I could avoid the pain. When the pain came I decided to continue moving my neck side to side. The pain was agonizing but then something happened, in a matter of seconds the pain stopped! I couldn’t believe it! The ache didn’t last as long when I moved my neck through the pain. It was then the Lord spoke to me about pain.
He gave me this scripture verse found in Psalms 23: 4
“Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.”
The Lord said to me that our first reaction to pain as humans is to stop moving. But the only way we can get rid of the pain inside of us is to keep moving. I have to admit, when I was avoiding the pain, I was also praying to God to remove the pain. But in the end I found myself praying and moving. I believe that is what the Lord wants His people to get out of this article. The pain you are feeling may be seemly unbearable, but if you don’t quit, the Lord will see you through! After about a day of moving through the pain I realized that the pain was gone and my work around the house was done. If I would have decided to continue avoiding the pain, I would have held onto the pain longer and I wouldn’t have gotten anything done around the house. The only way we can get rid of the pain is to fight through it.
Challenge: Take a moment and think about the pain you are feeling right now. How can you fight through it? If it is your marriage, talk about it with your spouse. If it is parenting, pray for your child. One thing is for sure the pain will not go away until you face it.
{ 0 comments… add one now }