When the pain becomes unbearable…

An aching soul, a sinking heart, a feeling of deep sorrow…and God.

Pain. Not physical pain, but the emotional pain that comes with helplessness, discouragement, and sadness. If I say I have never felt this pain, I will be lying, and so will you. We have all been there. For me, the pain gets a little more intense when I am on the verge of overcoming a major obstacle – I know this does not make sense, but it’s true. I also go through pain when God is teaching me a lesson that I would otherwise have ignored.

That pain is terrible. You wake up, it’s there. You sleep, and you dream about it. All day long you are on the verge of tears, and generally terrible to be around. Then – after a couple of days of suffering – you remember God.

God sees our pain and understands what we go through during painful seasons. He also has lessons for us. Here are a few of the lessons I have learnt from my painful seasons over the years.

Trust God in the midst of the pain

This is a hard one – trusting the Lord when all I can see is darkness – when I have had faith for so long but no answer is in sight. A painful experience indeed.

David had such an experience. He was anointed to be king but it was several years before he was actually crowned king. During those years he was almost killed by Saul, spent nights in caves, had to pretend to be mad and even went to live in enemy territory. You can imagine leaving your comfortable home and peaceful life in obedience to the Lord’s will only to land in deeper, life-threatening trials!

Here is what David said in one of his psalms.

Psalm 13:1-2 “O LORD, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” (NLT)

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that David would utter such words. After all, he was a great warrior who had led Israel into battle more than once. But he said them because that was exactly how he felt. Even though everything on the outside seemed to be going perfectly, David was in deep distress.

So what did David do? Did he turn away from the Lord, the God who he felt had forsaken him? No, he didn’t.

Psalm 13:5 “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.” (NLT)

David chose to trust in the Lord. It was not an easy thing to do, but he did it anyway. And – many years later, he was finally crowned as king of Israel.

Trusting the Lord in the midst of pain is a tall order – I have been there, so I know how hard it is to do so. Putting our trust in Him is however the best thing we can do because when doing so, we acknowledge that He is able to handle anything that we are going through. Trusting in God when things are at their worst is an expression of faith, a faith that God sees and acts upon at His perfect time. Hang in there.

Be grateful in the midst of the pain

There are these little toes on each of my feet that has an annoying affinity for chair legs, bed posts, doors, etc. Every time one of these toes rams into one of these things, the pain is out of this world. The question is, am I grateful when this happens? Honestly, no!

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (AMP)

No matter what the circumstances – oh boy! Even when all is going well, giving thanks in all situations is not easy – just imagine how it is when things are thick!

In the recent past, I have been learning to give thanks. There have been some challenges that have knocked on my door, all of them painful, and I am learning to be thankful. I have learnt to appreciate God’s love, His word, His presence, and the little blessings He sends my way. My better half always reminds me that we need to be thankful for the blessings that we have at the moment because there are people out there who do not have even a quarter of what we have.

How does gratitude help? First, it shifts your mind away from your present circumstances. If you intentionally look for something to thank God for, you will have little time left to wallow in your sorrows. Second, being grateful helps put things into perspective. As your gratitude list grows longer, you realize that the Lord has been answering your prayers in little bits, even the long-forgotten prayers. Thirdly, gratitude forces you to focus on the Lord and appreciate what He has done for you, thus shifting the focus away from your problems!

Surrender to God in the midst of the pain

On a good day, the word ‘surrender’ is hard to digest. On a painful, sorrowful day, it is the furthest thing from my mind, because all I want is an antidote for the pain, not a lesson in surrender.

The key to getting through the pain, however, is surrender to God. He allows the pain. He knows why you must go through it, and what lessons you need to learn. He knows that once you get through the painful period, you will understand what surrender is all about.

Psalm 61:2 “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” (NIV)

David was one of the strongest and most powerful people in the land of Israel, yet his heart had grown faint. It was at this point that David realized that he had reached the end of his own strength, and he needed someone or something bigger to help him out. That someone was God. For David to receive the Lord’s help, however, he needed to acknowledge that God was more powerful than he would ever be.

How hard it is for us to get to that point! I know when I am going through a season of pain, I sometimes feel that it’s my right to get help from the Lord because I am a Christian. Unfortunately, that approach rarely works for anyone, especially where God is involved! I find that when I get to the point of surrender, the point where I can no longer work things out on my own, God graciously steps in and sorts me out. Surrender to God during a period of pain gives me the chance to step back and let Him take charge of what is happening, comfort me, and teach me whatever lesson I need to learn at that moment.

Dear friends, the sad reality is that pain may become unbearable from time to time! When those seasons come along, however, remember to trust in the Lord, be grateful for all that He has already done for you, and let Him do His job!

 

 

 

 

Hi, everyone! Thanks again for stopping by and reading this week’s article. I hope and pray that if you are going through a season of pain, you are now at a place where you can let God have His way in your life. Please share this article with anyone you know may need to read these words. Most importantly, remember that painful seasons are exactly that – seasons. They don’t last forever. Have a blessed week ahead!