"I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me" - Amos 4:9
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world" - C.S. Lewis
In Psalm 22, we see a shout of deep anguish:
"I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my bosom.
...I can count all my bones -
they stare and gloat after me" - Psalm 22:14 & 17
Before we see these descriptions as only prophetic insights into the suffering of Jesus the Messiah on the cross (as many people do), maybe we should look a little closer home. For many of us, this describes the way that we feel deep inside as we maneuver through our difficulties........isn't it? The pain is sometimes so severe that we often have a hard time even putting it into words. Have you ever been so broken that you didn't even know how to pray about it? I have been there. Thank God for the intercession of the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 8:26-27) on our behalf when we don't know how to pray. In the midst of what we are going through, we must be conscious of the fact that there is a PURPOSE in our PAIN. Let's look at a few of these:
If it is self-inflicted (i.e. our choices/actions are the cause), pain is given as a means to retrace our steps and to make things right - in other words, it's a means to REPENTANCE. This is what God sought to make clear in the above verse in Amos 4:9: He brought suffering to prompt Israel to open their eyes and turn back to Him. Sometimes the pain won’t stop until things are made right. God intends it this way to keep us from really hurting ourselves.
If it is inflicted by someone else unintentionally, pain is given as a reminder that we are sinful, imperfect people living in a sinful, imperfect world - in other words, it's a means of REVELATION. When the apostle Paul declares in Romans 3:10-11, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands; there is none that seeks after God",he is affirming the only truth that can lead men to having a personal relationship with God. Every day we are taught about our need for God through our own imperfections and the imperfections of others. God intends it this way to teach us humility.
If it is inflicted by someone else maliciously, pain is given as a test of our faith and dependence upon God - in other words, it's a means of SANCTIFICATION. The apostle Peter said it: "Beloved, don't be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice, insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you might also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed" - 1 Peter 4:12-13. God intends it this way to keep us ever looking to Him and not trusting in our own strength and resources.
Whatever your challenge is today, ask God: "What are you saying to me through this?"
Pastor Andrew Smith
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