Think It Not Strange

Chronic pain interferes with hopes, dreams, plans and goals. It meddles with the mind and can be a real heart breaker. For the Christian, however, long-term pain can bring meaning and reveal purposes that would otherwise go unnoticed. Coping with chronic pain is a challenge, but certainly not impossible. There is hope. For twelve years this author has suffered with the remnants of eight spinal operations and a degenerative condition that daily deposits pain into her life’s account. Suffering ones eagerly anticipate the Lord’s return, when He will grant new bodies and bring His own children to a place where there is no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4). Until then, though, we are responsible to live by His Word and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Like some medications, though, the truth is difficult to swallow sometimes. That is why we must live our lives (painful or not) in Christ, relying on Him to see us through each moment of the day, in peace. Pain’s invasion does not have to rob us of inner joy. We can even make peace with the pain and survive its torment graciously. The Lord will help us! “But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause, who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number” (Job 5:8-9).