Jesus has left you a good example of how to bear your pain, and you can bear yours in His grace.
SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Here’s Joni with advice about dealing with pain.
JONI: So many people, yes, even Christians, struggle terribly with chronic pain. And at Joni and Friends, we hear from lots of them. I was looking through some of the emails, and it’s clear that most Christians do not have a problem with God allowing pain; they’ve got a problem with feeling discouraged and even disappointed with the Lord because of their pain. My friend Roxanne is wrestling with that right now. She’s a stalwart believer in Christ, but her pain has really been battering her faith.
But, like I told Roxanne, I said, “You know, Rox, the God of the Bible is not a celestial ogre who is out to make your life miserable. I mean, God is so interested in your earthly well-being and eternal welfare. Come on, you know He sent Jesus to deliver you and me from a misery far more devastating than any migraine or any degenerative disc disease.”
God has made a huge personal investment in her personal condition, and mine. And He’s heaven-bent on applying to Roxanne and me and you every benefit of His Son’s resurrection, including peace that’s profound, and joy overflowing, contentment that’s sweet, and even a soul that’s settled while in pain.
What’s more, the Bible does not avoid the issue of pain. God’s Word resonates with our pain and records our lament. In short, God understands. I mean, Psalm 22 says that God “has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” It’s why the psalmist can say in Psalm 25, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I’m lonely; I’m afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.” Oh, friend, when you’re in pain, God hears you; God wants to free you – and he can free you from your anguish. So, how do we approach the God of the Bible when in pain?
Well, this is what I do. When I am in really bad pain, I do not allow myself to think about it as the world thinks. The world says to curse God when you are in pain. Blame him. Fault him. Accuse him. Don’t go there. Instead, ask the Lord to help you understand how your condition fits into His will for your life. Like Romans 12 says, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world; do not think like the world, be transformed… finding out how good God’s will really is.” And how you are to trust Him in your pain. Next, we all know that Jesus is well acquainted with pain, so ask your bleeding Savior to teach you His hard path and to help you to follow Him as you should. The Bible says that Christ has suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps. So, if you’re in pain, ask the one who knows all about it. Ask the Lord to help you follow Him, trust Him, and how to lean on Him for His grace and His enabling. So that you can have contentment that’s sweet and a soul that’s settled.
These are just a few things I shared with Roxanne. And I share these ideas with you today, because when you’re in pain, I don’t want you to look at it as the world would have you look at it. God’s not an ogre; don’t be thinking He’s a killjoy; He’s not out to make your life miserable; do not be thinking that way. Think about your pain the same way as God thinks about it.
SHAUNA: And friend, if you need help doing that, then take a minute and visit us at joniradio.org today. You’ll find an absolute treasure trove of solid biblical encouragement from Joni, and all of it points to God’s Word, God’s heart, and the mind of Christ. And remember, Jesus has left you a good example of how to bear up under your pain. He bore His. And you can bear yours in His grace.
© Joni and Friends