Periods of Pain
Pain is an interesting phenomenon.
What we can learn from pain will depend on the type of pain we are experiencing.
God made our bodies to experience pain in order to let us know that something is wrong. Something needs repair, or attention.
Touch a hot stove and immediately you feel pain. The object is to get you to remove your hand from the hot stove so that worse damage is not done. It is a survival mechanism.
Tooth pain tells us there is infection. Back pain can tell us there is muscle strain because we are not lifting properly. Foot pain can tell us that we need shoes that give us better support. A stomachache can tell us that we have eaten too much, or the food we ate wasn’t good for us.
Of course, there are more serious types of pain, and these can teach us the real limits of our endurance.
People who suffer from chronic physical pain must deal with not only the usual pain that stems from their conditions, but also the extra stress and pain that is piled up in the course of normal life: pain plus flu, pain plus migraine, pain plus toothache, and so on.
Cancer patients, people with brittle bones, and those who suffer from recurring kidney infections can tell you about pain that seems unrelenting – that sometimes only a strong pain killer will help.
We see it every day: people live with varying amounts of pain, for varying amounts of time. It is part of our human condition.
God has made our bodies with a wondrous mechanism that we call “shock”. When a leg is torn off in a motorcycle accident, or an arm is lost to a shark, or any terrible wound is received, the human body moves instantly to protect life – to shut down certain peripheral functions in order to defend the core. The mind may not even be aware that anything has happened, but the body is doing all it can in order to save itself.
Shock is a critical time for the person experiencing it: a window of opportunity for help to come, for an outside assistant to come and staunch the bleeding, to remove the patient from harm’s way, to begin the process of life-saving techniques that will ensure continued life. If a person in shock does not get help, he will often die.
In this case, pain is suspended for a short time as shock sets in so that the person in shock has time to take action, if he is able. There comes a moment, when the patient survives and is out of danger, when the tremendous pain that was held at bay crashes back in like a flood as the body begins to try to restore normal functions.
What about emotional pain?
We’ve all heard about people who have had great emotional shock acting strange or “unnatural”.
Hysterical laughter at the news of the death of a loved one is not an indication that the hearer of bad news is amused; it is a sign of emotional shock.
Refusal to listen to the truth of an affair does not mean the bad news hasn’t been heard; it’s a coping mechanism that the hearer is using to keep the news away as long as possible until they can get a handle on it.
Denial that a loved one has died, or suddenly left without explanation, or committed an act of betrayal, is also a sign of shock. The news is too devastating to handle and must be pushed away.
Refusal to see a loved one who is ill because he is expected to die is not the act of one who is heartless, but the act of one who is fearful of death, who is terrified of his own mortality and has not come to terms with the fact that part of life on this earth should naturally include the fact that we all eventually die.
It is a fact that we cannot prevent much of the pain that comes our way. Certainly we do all we can to prevent ourselves from coming to physical harm. We surround ourselves with friends and associates we feel will not cause us emotional harm. We try to control our environment to allow in as little pain as possible. When pain comes, we react, we take stock of the situation and then we respond. The object is always to remove the source of the pain as quickly as possible so that we may get back to “normal”.
But there are some instances where pain cannot be removed. Physical pain remains and promises to grow worse. Emotional pain remains and it is up to us to deal with it because the other party, or the relationship, or the situation will not change.
What does God expect of us when we go through such intense periods of pain?
I believe that God showed us through the life of Jesus that pain is something we must expect in this life. Even though Jesus healed all who came to Him, and though He still heals today, we see that more often than not, suffering continues even for the very faithful.
We are told that Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).
Paul wanted to be made conformable to Jesus’ death so that he might share in the fellowship of His suffering and His resurrection life (Philippians 3:10).
1 Peter 2:19 admonishes us to endure grief, suffering wrongfully, for the sake of Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:1-4 sees praise of the Macedonian church for sharing what they had out of their poverty, and for having great joy in the midst of terrible affliction.
What the Bible teaches us runs contrary to what our sense of self-preservation tells us. The Bible seems to call us to rise above the physical and emotional pain of life and reach out to God, and to our brethren, to prove that there is a fellowship and a life that is stronger than the fear of death or personal loss.
Yet the God who made us knows our frame. He knows we are fragile, and that our bodies are temporary houses for eternal souls. That is just the point He wants us to understand! We spend so much time catering to the comfort of our bodies, and controlling the environment in which we live or work, and we tend to build up little kingdoms for ourselves so that we forget that this life is not all there is, and when time is no more for us, eternity shall begin.
Jesus made some startling statements, which Matthew recorded in his gospel:
Matthew 18:7-9 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! (8) Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. (9) And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
If we took this literally, how many blind and lame people would we see running around? I wonder if it might be fewer than we think, since we are so very concerned with preserving ourselves and our comfort, often at any cost.
Perhaps it is not fair to disparage our comfort and safety. We are made in such a way that we wish to nourish and cherish our own bodies, after all. In the normal course of life, it is expected that we will feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, tend to our hygiene and do whatever else will promote a strong body.
But most of us do not care so much for our souls, and if we would view our souls the way we view our human bodies, many of us would find that we have starved our souls to the point of emaciation! No wonder they cannot respond correctly to tragedy and sorrow when they have not been fed.
To feed one’s soul in preparation for the life that comes after the physical death is the most important job we have. Time works its ravages on our bodies, and then death comes – whether early, and tragically, or after many long years, and peacefully. By the time this happens, we should be ready to step into eternity – ready to live life with God forever.
If we are not ready to do this, if we have not made the proper provision for our spiritual life, then we have to re-order our priorities before it is too late.
How does pain enter into all of this?
I truly believe that God allows all sorts of pain to come into our lives, and that if we will look to Him in the course of that pain, we will discover that He is present and willing to help us through it. In this way we come closer to the One Who created us for His good pleasure.
We can see this thought reflected in this extraordinary passage from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians:
2Corinthians 4:1-18 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; (2) But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. (3) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (8) We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (9) Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (10) Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (11) For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. (12) So then death worketh in us, but life in you. (13) We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; (14) Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (15) For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. (16) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (17) For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Paul clearly sees that even though the physical body – the outward man – perishes, the inward man – the spirit of a man – is renewed and being prepared for eternal life. This he compares and contrasts with the way that men walk who do not understand that they should not be merely living for this world – who do everything they can in order to get material gain even though they can’t take it with them. He takes great pains to explain that this great treasure that God has given to us is hid in earthen vessels, and someday after those vessels have returned to dust, we will be joyfully and gloriously resurrected to eternal life.
This is our testing ground, and pain is a great teacher.
*In her book, Hind’s Feet on High Places, Hannah Hurnard tells the story of Poor Little Much Afraid, who is in the service of the Shepherd. Much Afraid lives in the Valley of Fearing, and though she would very much like to be able to climb up into the mountains of the Kingdom of Love, she is lame and her face is marred, and she knows that nothing that is imperfect or flawed can exist in that wonderful place. But the Shepherd offers to help her to be transformed so that she can go upon the mountains with hind’s feet and be loved at last.
In order to start the journey to the high places, the Shepherd must plant the seed of love within the heart of Poor Little Much Afraid. She immediately agrees, but nearly faints with fear when she sees the terrible pointed thorn the Shepherd produces. She asks if it will hurt, and He tells her that it will hurt, but it will also be sweet, and that is the only way for her to be made ready to make the journey. So she submits to this fearful thing, and finds that although it hurts, it happens so quickly that she hardly knows what is happening before it is all over.
Poor Little Much Afraid wishes to have the Shepherd to lead her up the mountain Himself, but instead He gives her two guides. These guides are Sorrow and Suffering, both strong and willing guides to help poor ugly and crippled little Much Afraid to get up that mountain in spite of the attempts at interference from her Fearing relatives. In the beginning Much Afraid doesn’t even understand the language of Sorrow and Suffering, and she tries to climb up the foot of the mountain by herself, so much does she detest the idea of actually taking them by the hand. But the Shepherd explains to her that it is the only way for her to make the climb, because she is not strong enough to make the trip, let alone survive, without their help.
Ms. Hurnard tells a lovely story, and I have read it at least once a year all of my life since age 14. I could instantly identify with Poor Little Much Afraid, and with each reading I can look back over the years and see the areas where I was bold enough to take the hands of sorrow and suffering, and I also see where I have rejected the guides that the Lord has sent to me.
Pain is one of those guides, and I no longer shrink from the guidance because to shrink is to delay and lose ground. I want to learn the lessons that God has for me. I want to understand all that He wishes to teach me, and to be a profitable servant even in times of pain and distress.
I don’t love pain. I don’t enjoy it. But God has brought to me a great transformation, and I no longer complain to God about the pain. Instead I ask Him what He would have me do, and I wait for Him to answer. I do all that I can in spite of the pain, and I turn to Him for comfort and support.
In this way I have learned that through periods of pain we can have great times of growth. Pain seems to cut through the clouds and exposes what is important. Pain holds the promise of the sharp contrast of heaven, when we have faith that God’s word is true and that we are truly going somewhere when this life is over.
All creation groans with the pain that has come as a result of the curse. All creation waits for the redemption of the Son of God.
Here is His promise to all of us who wait patiently through trials and affliction even though there seems to be no relief in sight:
Rev 21:3-4 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
May God help us not to run from Him, but to run to Him when we are suffering. Let us draw near to Him and seek His face. Let us submit to His leading, and listen to His voice. He has promised that there will be an end to our pain, and this will be the beginning of all joys – when we shall be His people and He shall be our God and there shall be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain!
Rev 22:20-21 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (21) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
*From Sis Cathian’s book review of Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
