Transforming Your Pain
Various Biblical figures describe how they’ve learned to trust God more deeply through their suffering. Yet our suffering reminds us how little wisdom we possess. With suffering, we learn how little control we have over our emotions. Suffering also strips away our illusions of control. In our weakness, we worship at the foot of the medical community, trusting they have an answer. Thankfully, science continues to improve exponentially, and almost everyone I’ve met in the medical profession tries hard to make a difference in people’s lives. Yet, medical care can help by masking pain or even deferring suffering, but unless we die suddenly, the human common denominator remains suffering.
In the gospels, Jesus is described as a healer and even provides miraculous examples. Jesus’ care and healings convey God’s care and concern for human beings. Still, one must remember that Jesus didn’t wave a magic wand and heal everyone he encountered. We get frustrated with God because this world isn’t perfect. Suffering happens. We want to move directly to God’s heavenly kingdom, do not pass go, do not collect $200.00, without living the life God intended in this world. In our present world, we learn that we are not gods, and we are to trust and affirm that we are God’s people and that God is our only lasting hope. Even our suffering is a reminder to look beyond ourselves into the light of God’s care.
In God’s Grace in Your Suffering, David Powlison writes, “Profound good in our lives often emerges in a crucible of significant suffering.” God took the horror of Jesus’ cross and transformed it into a symbol of new life. Many of us have stories, in hindsight, of how our suffering was transformed. Whether we learn from our struggles or from the limitations of our suffering, God often uses our pain in transformative ways.
Throughout my elementary school years, I became known as the kid who never sat still. My grades reflected my teachers’ frustration. By high school, I learned to control my physical energy, but my mind ran wild, and my grades suffered. In college, I benefited from manipulating my class schedule so I could have breaks between classes, allowing me to focus in shorter bursts. Yet I wasn’t sure I was cut out for ministry because of the academic demands it entailed. Then, I broke my back and went through momentary paralysis, surgeries, and a long recovery. One of my surgeons visited my hospital bed and asked what I wanted to do for a living. I told him, “The ministry.” He said, “Good, because you should never carry anything heavier than a Bible, for the rest of your life.” Leaving academic life for a more physical occupation was no longer an option. I may not have continued my education after college if other physically demanding options had not been removed. I am so pleased I continued in ministry.
Not all suffering comes with a blessing attached, but reflecting on meaning is worth your consideration. Powlison continues, “Faith’s enduring and alert dependency on the Lord is one of the Spirit’s finest fruits. And you bear that fruit only when you have lived through something hard.” Faith in God doesn’t mean only asking God for help to endure the pain. Magical healing isn’t always the divine response. Many times, your suffering makes you God’s tool for providing hope and support to others. If little old you and I received blessing and strength to move forward despite our limitations, then you and I might inspire others in their pain to trust God to transform their new reality into something even better. Embrace the courage to step into your suffering, trusting that God hasn’t forgotten you but is using you for something profound so that others might heal and grow.