Most people understand that pain of some kind is an inevitable part of life and growth. Believe it or not, there are benefits to having pain. Physical pain lets you know when something is wrong in the body that needs your attention. Pain forces you to acknowledge a condition you may not know about, something that could potentially claim your life. Pain can make you rearrange your priorities and your schedule to seek help and it makes you willing to submit to treatment you may not enjoy knowing it will make you better.
Physical pain is not the only pain that humanity must endure. The pain associated with the loss of a loved one can be devastating. It is a pain that is always present but perhaps not as intense over time. To lose physical health, our abilities and our self-image is a grievous loss, an overwhelming loss that challenges us to search for an identity beyond our physical body. We are vulnerable then but it is the time when we can more fully receive life’s astonishing gift of love.
When we are coping with enduring pain, human love helps us to see divine love. We are fiercely loved by God when we are in our most painful moments in life because we were created in sacred love. In tearful acceptance, we can let the love of God and others soak into our mind and heart of our very being. The Bible teaches that we are created in the image of God and because of this, we can love one another and be loved with sacred intensity.
Biblical scripture teaches that when troubles come our way, consider it an opportunity for great joy and a test of faith. Because when our faith is tested, our endurance has a chance to grow. The saying is “no test, no testimony.” So let your faith grow. For when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. So, keep the faith while enduring the pain and Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
