People are hurting, but do not know what to do with what they are currently feeling. They know what they feel, but lack the ability to interpret what that pain communicates to them. How should we react or respond to our pain?  This dilemma has become more apparent as a result of the added pressures of the pandemic. The pain was already there, but isolation and fears have given more expression to the battle already engaged within the soul. Those that are blamed become the victims of their rage, and pain is a part of life and living. The gift of life is painless, full of intrigue, and hope. But from the moment you drew your first breath, pain was inflicted and is used to forge and fashion your destiny.  As the saying goes, “hurting people hurt people.” Not only do we experience pain, but we inflict pain upon others. Not always intentionally, but it is impossible for us to be real with ourselves and with God without causing injury to the souls of others. Life does not consist of sameness of personalities and wills. The uniqueness of individuals does not automatically harmonize into a well-ordered symmetry of thoughts and actions. There will be people that you even love, not always enemies and strangers, that will rub you the wrong way. 

In addition to people, there are situations and circumstances that will occur that will cause you grief. A sickness or disease, the death of a loved one, the loss of employment, divorce and abandonment of spouse of friends; numerous things that cut deep within the heart. Their leaving a wound that cries out and demands attention. Dr. C. S. Lewis once said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  Pain always carries with it a message. It is not to be ignored, but it signals the need for either correction or adjustments. Medical doctors make it clear that we are not to ignore areas of pain within our bodies. If the pain lingers too long and is never attended to, what might have been something that could have been easily remedied has become a major crisis and could lead to death. The opposite is the hypochondriac that over medicates himself at every twitch of the nerves. He may poison his own system as result of being too self-conscious. It’s important to know what God is saying through the issues of life that we daily face. He is speaking, but are you listening? His Word is our daily food. It builds up our spiritual systems so that the antibodies of faith build within us the resistance to the disease of sinning against God.  

Heb 4:15-16 “ We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all — all but the sin.” (Message Bible)

Isa 53:3-4 “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,”

 What must we do with our pain? Listen to God as His Word will develop faith to believe and act on His Word. Each case is different, but none exist beyond His knowledge. He fully identifies with our human experience so that His Spirit may enter in and provide the peace that can only come from Him. He comforts us in our pain by providing for us His strength when our strength is gone. He has gone before you, remains with you, and sees you through everything that you will face in this life. He wants to show you your future pain-free life to be spent with Him forever!