There is a time or even several times we will all experience pain. In that pain, we will have the honor to be overwhelmed by the goodness of God. Through the pains, the trials, issues, disasters and whatever shakes us out of ourselves, we find Him. You see, satin thinks that through those things that bring us to the end of our rope, he can somehow destroy what God is doing in us. But how funny it is when we are shaken outside of ourselves, we can actually see God in a new way. Now that the self-centered mindset we once were in, is smothered by our pains, we can actually realize that we can't do anything without Him.
In 2 Cr 12:7-10 Paul tells us about his experience with pain and how God spoke to him: "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in my flesh a messenger of satan was sent to torment me, to keep me from exalting myself!; (8) concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. (9) And He has said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (10) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."
How perfect is this scripture? What a response from Paul, that He would be content and gladly except what ever is thrown at him. He learned through the pain, and the clarity he had with God, that the Lord's power was perfected in weakness.
Most the time we don't want to go through pain to receive this special strength and development. In the sermon, the pastor informed us about leprosy. You say, well yeah talk about pain. The thing is, leprosy actually attacks your nerve endings. So the wounds they have are inflicted from themselves, by not having feeling. Knowing this, there have been several projects to help them avoid harming themselves. This part is crazy, it just shows how practical this is to how we view pain. So the pastor goes on to explain that they hook up this glove, and "shocky" thing on their side. Each time they were harming themselves (like frying their hand off on the stove) the signal would shock them. They found out that it wasn't successful, because the patients were actually turning off the devise! They would rather not feel pain and then to be protected by it. It's clear to see the parallel here. Uno: we don't want to go through the pain, Dose: Pain actually stops us from harm and stops us from our own self. So if actual pain is a way to stop our body from what ever it is causing us pain or from harming ourself any further , than we can look at the Lord using pain in the same way.
so just to start rapping this sermon (pretty much) up, Pain is can be something to rejoice in. At the time it is super hard, believe me I know. BUT I also know that in the midst of it all, with the Lord changing you, growing you, devoping and producing this patience, and wisdom that nothing else can. We have to, I have to, make the choice to not let the situation/pain eat me up, keep me down,or steal my joy. I'm going to let it stop me, so I can actually lean on Him and not myself.
It's so easy, I know, to allow a bitter root to just take its growth in your life. When it does it just drives into your heart deeper and deeper, where you don't even care about others, yourself, and sometimes the Lord. There is a point where God brings you to realization that the root is planting a firm cynical spirit in you. but, we have to honor God, go to HIM,and have faith in His promises to use our weakness and show His glory through it. Keep connected to Him, He promises to never leave or forsake. I have seen God in a new light, I'm mad when I forgot how much healing and restoration He has instilled in me. Through those, I know that God's will is far far better than mine, and it's a pleasure to seek it. Yes, pain can bring instant clarity and focus, it helps us have unity, because we all go through some kind of pain. It's only through God's awesome, powerful work in me, that when I look at what was horrible or helpless all I can see is the Glory of God.
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