Pain - Mental, Physical, And Spiritual

From the day we are born into this world, we have pain, whether it be mental, physical, or spiritual. Some are born with handicaps that make it more difficult than others to make it in life without help. They have difficulties that most of us never have to cope with - the "prying eyes" that don't mean harm, yet pierce the very being of a person who might be without a limb, in a wheelchair, 'look different' than we do - just a few of many differences they may possess. Though this might seem to not be a problem with those onlookers, since they are only curious, I can only imagine what it puts in the heart of a person that's being looked upon. It has to weigh heavily upon their heart and mind.

Then there are those that have the pain of injury later in life. We have a young friend, between the ages of our two children, that had a real bad fall about three years ago. He will never lead the kind of life that a healthy person does. He is in constant pain, battling it every day of his life. The doctors can only 'help' him try to control it, and he's had one operation after another, even devices put in to help control his walking and his standing. But the pain is very severe and never ending.

Probably the worse pain to endure in life is spiritual pain. Most of us have had to go through it at one time or another. It can be the most 'crippling' and devastating to our lives, since it can separate from the one to whom we want to be closest. At first, before coming a Christian, we didn't know how to identify this kind of pain - the longing for peace in our lives that we never could find, and our continous searching for that one thing in life that would bring us happiness beyond measure. Then one day we met Jesus. Most of our spiritual pain is gone when he becomes our Lord and Saviour.

But there are those that sometimes get caught up in the hurt caused by others. Meaningful people, sometimes without knowing, hurt us in ways that it's hard to describe. Only Jesus can help us get through those hurts. Some are pastors/ministers that get hurt by well meaning people in the churches. In other words, PEOPLE hurt other people, most of the time not meaning to, but it happens just the same.

These hurts are hard; doesn't matter how they happen, or when. They eat into us sometimes, making us bitter. We don't trust, we snap at people, and life becomes a living hell for us. But there is an answer to all our pain - Jesus Christ. We have to learn to turn our troubles to him. We will all be faced with problems and hurts in our lives. Nobody is immune. But you have to decide which is worse, a life of hating people for what they have done to you, a life for what it's dealt to you, or having a loving relationship with GOD. Without love for our fellow man, we can't have that kind of relationship. God is love, and his commandment is to love others as we love ourselves.

How do you 'love yourself'? Are you constantly berating others for their part in 'your hurts'? Or do you ask GOD to remove all the hurt and pain in your life, so you can live life to the fullest and be able to share Jesus with a satisfied and healthy spiritual mind? We will all be faced with these challenges, but we have to be able to say this is not of God; he would not have us act the way our human mind tells us to act. He would have us act with love and compassion and show love to all those that have hurt and given us pain, so that His light can be shown in our lives to others along the way.

Job 14:22 But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn. KJV

Taken from Master's Table Devotionals at Barbara's Entourage.

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