Have you ever been in so much pain that you cannot think of anything else but the pain you are in? It could be emotional, physical, financial, or even all of them at once. You just want it to go away but it envelops you to such a degree that you feel like you can’t even breathe. You wake up and it’s there, you try to go to sleep at night and it’s still there. Some days you may feel a bit of relief but for the most part it just lingers in every fiber of your being and your realize that you have changed in some way. Everything seems blurry.

C.S. Lewis writes…”Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself.”

Suffering is not only natural but an essential part of the human experience. Remember, we are spiritual beings having a human experience not human beings having a spiritual experience. People often talk as if nothing were easier than for two naked minds to meet. We are all unique with different backgrounds, experiences, and free-will. This fact in itself creates suffering.

We think why would an all-loving, all knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering? C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does.” “Love in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere kindness, which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect the opposite pole from Love. We are being prepared for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us wish that pain and suffering were not part of the destiny, pain reminds of that we are not the center of the universe, God is.

Suffering brings us closer to God and to others. God created us to be dependent on him so he can be strong when we are weak. He is our armor….

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. 

Suffering always has a purpose because it’s shaping you into who you really are and who you are becoming. We can changed the way we view pain; instead of focusing on the pain, we focus on all the blessings and beauty God lays before us each and everyday. We focus on God. And the pain loses some of it’s power. The scripture says, stand firm!  God is not only our helper, he is our lens. We have a shifting perspective and his is clear and always the same.

God loves us right where we are but He does not leave us there. We came from God and we return to God, everything else is a lesson in love. Learn what he is teaching, don’t be the fool who goes his own way. God is clear that his ways our higher. Our job is to cry out when we hurt, cry out when others hurt, trust, and have faith that our God is good and will see us through to the very end, or should I say beginning.

Suffering matters and there are rich blessings being released in the midst of your pain. Stand firm, the best is yet to come

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