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THE PURPOSE OF PAIN
Pain is an indicator. Pain is
a message set to our brain, that something is wrong. Consider this... if you're walking down the beach
and cut your foot on a piece of glass and felt no pain, but started to bleed, you could actually bleed to death before you
ever knew that anything was wrong, thus pain would be acting as an indicator to let you know that something is wrong, that
something is wounded, that something is cut wide open and out of order from its normal condition, so that you can be attentive
to it and take care of the wound.
God, in his mercy and
great wisdom, has created within us, within the human body, within the human mind and heart the alarm system of pain.
Without pain our life would be under constant threat of an unknown death without any warning. Without
pain there are many things we would not know or ever understand. Without pain we would never come to a
place where we could reach out to God for our purpose and destiny. Without pain we would never look beyond
ourselves, but would be self-satisfied and self-indulgent.
I know this
is a hard saying, because none of us likes to feel pain. None of us in enjoys pain. In
fact, most of us spend our entire life trying to avoid pain of one sort or another; but we have to remember...For whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Heb. 12:6). God scourges, beats, whips every son? Yes,
every son (which includes females).
God does not sit idly by as you suffer pain!
He is the cause of it! What? If I said that statement in 99% of the modern
day "churches" in North America, they would scream blasphemy and ban me from returning. And yet
this is what the scriptures teach! Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise (crumble,
crush, break in pieces) him; he hath put him to grief :(Isa.53:10b emphasis
mine).
Is the god (little g on purpose) in most North American "churches" the God of the Bible?
Volumes have been written on the goodness of God and the 'badness' of the devil.
Often it is taught in such a way so as to leave the impression that God and the devil oppose each other
as equals on the same playing field. It is taught that God is good and never does anything 'evil', including cause
pain. As if pain has no purpose in the plan of God, and all the devil wants to do is cause you pain and
misery.
If we were to take this view of God we would have to admit, after
looking at all of the pain and misery around us, that God must not be very powerful, or He must not be very loving to let
this human tragedy to continue. NO! NO! NO!
The God of the Bible is Almighty! The devil is not His equal!! And God does have a purpose for all pain
and suffering on this planet.
Unlike the North American 'church', the Bible does not
make excuses for God's authority. The True and Living God is intimately involved with everything and
everyone on a level that the human mind cannot grasp, but that He will reveal to your spirit if you have ears to hear.
He does this through his Word.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh
it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it
shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (Isa. 55:8-11).
Remember your pain has a purpose. It is an
indicator; a warning system that something is wrong, out of order. It is a messenger sent to fulfill and
accomplish a specific purpose. There is nothing like pain to grab our attention!
When God sends pain into our lives it is called chastening.
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless
afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby (Heb. 12:11).
Chastening
does not feel good to the flesh. It is painful, but necessary in bringing us to maturity in God's plan. For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous
and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness--in conformity to God's will in purpose, thought, and action,
resulting in right living and right standing with God] (Heb. 12:11 Amplified). Chastening produces a fruit.
Chastening from the hand of God, gets our attention and brings us to place we are able to surrender to
Him. As Job said, Though
he slay me, yet will I trust in him:(Job 13:15).
Some people would say, no that's not God; God would
never do that; God would never slay you. But they just don't understand the character of the Father.
Every good father trains his children by correcting them. And absolutely, pain was given to us as
a warning system to get our attention from God. It's not fun being corrected by the Spirit of God,
it is not joyous, but afterwards it yields the fruit of a right relationship with God.
The word GREVIOUS is also translated as sorrow - For
godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (2Cor. 7:10).
The pain and sorrow of being
in the world, of being in sin and rejecting the ways of God has no purpose. The pain that comes from sin
is not redemptive pain, but God can use it too, to get our attention, so that we turn to Him.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which
corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few
days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our
profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness (Heb. 12:9-10).
God's purpose in causing pain is evidenced in complete
salvation and maturing sons that share in His character and likeness. We need to remember this when we
are going through chastening. While we are being chastened sometimes we loose our vision and feel like
giving up; like quitting and that we are alone and that God has forgotten us. It is in this time that we
need to be reminded of the Truth of God's purposes and His Sovereignty to bring them to pass.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang
down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let
it rather be healed (Heb. 12:12-13). Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our
faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye
be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin (Heb. 12:2-4).
When we suffer pain and go through tests, trials and chastening we must keep our eyes on Jesus. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was
made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same
in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the
children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit,
the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man
seeth, why doth he yet hope for it. But if we hope for that we see not, then
do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate,
them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is
he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as
sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:18-34).
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