Pain

I came across a thought this past weekend and realized I only had half of the idea. Kind of like when you go to your boss and say “this doesn’t work” and he tells you to go back and come up with a solution instead of just telling him the problem. Pain should not be the arrows we fling at God, the never-ending “why” questions, the shaking of our fists at Him, or the blame-game… but what should it be?
In each of our lives we have experienced psychological pain, like when someone close to us dies or someone else hurts our feelings. However we experience this type of pain we choose whether to ignore it, nurse it, or heal it. In the first two choices, it is easy to be angry or bitter. “I can’t deal with this right now,” or “Why did you let this happen, God!?” Blame can play a big part in our lack of healing.
What if pain is intended to help us build a bridge to God, taking us to the very presence of our Comforter and Healer, becoming a pathway to His grace and healing. Through Christ, the “Bridge Builder,” we can reach the Father. The building of that bridge can be fortified and made stronger if the work is shared with others. When we share our pain with those around us and they feel it for us – come along side us - they are, in a sense, helping us build that bridge. Their prayers for us invite Jesus to intervene and help us build. Jesus will even build the entire thing if we are too broken to even begin.
An answer to our “why” questions may not satisfy our anger and most likely won’t make sense to us anyway. So why not chose another outlet for our pain. Instead of trying to bring down the Creator, try going up to the Healer.
Pain shouldn’t be the arrows we fling at God but the invitation to bridge the gap to His presence.

Am I Spiritually Vibrant and On Guard?

Why don’t I run to my time with the Lord? When I’m there I am so full and so happy. At peace, even. But it seems like study time is the last thing I do in a day, if I do it at all. I was reminded today of His presence and love in my life. How did I go so long without really “checking in” with Him? I feel so dull and wall-flowerish when I'm not in communication with Him.
I’ve started another Beth Moore study on Daniel and it hopefully has me back on track to feeling vibrant again. There were a bunch of moments when things hit home today but the biggest was the simplest. I need to be deliberate in being an influence in the world so that I can be prepared against the influences of the world.
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
“You’re either with us or against us.”
“It’s black and white.”
Wow, is it really? Does that idea really go that far? It seemed like a natural progression of thought. And when it comes right down to it, I think it does go that far. We are in the world but not of it. We live alongside it but we don’t flow with it. Ouch! It doesn’t mean we go “bible-thumping” everyone on the head but it does mean we remain focused on God’s direction in our lives so much so that we stand out amidst the world’s noise.
Jesus came up alongside many “undesirable and unclean” people but His focus was on God and pointing others to Him. He didn’t follow them into their sin but He did ask them to spend time with Him. He didn’t preach from a barricaded compound but He did arm Himself with God’s words and the Holy Spirit. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men [and women] of courage; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13.
I hope someday I am as annoyingly out of place and distracting as those huge TV screens off the freeway in Fife. It’s hard not to look at them. Maybe I’ll run someone off the road with my spiritual vibrancy the same way they do me!