Physical pain can often be helped by medication but emotional pain is much more difficult to deal with. There are times we wish we could completely escape from such grief and hurt. We may even read books, take course or set boundaries in an attempt to find ways to reduce or eliminate this dreadful pain. This is good and may be helpful but there are a few points we need to bear in mind.
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| Hot bottle rash in a person with chronic abdominal pain who found some relief from the application of heat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The opposite to pain is not joy but emotional deadness. If we never experience pain and grief it will be because we are also unable to experience love and joy. As a wise person said, ‘Pain is the price we pay for caring.’
God does not promise to take away our pain. He promises to be with us, comfort us and give us peace in the midst of our pain (Phil. 4:6,7). He shares and feels our pain and who better to do so. He experienced unbelievable pain on our behalf as the price of His caring.
“6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to god. 7 and the peace of god which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through christ jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 MKJV)
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Find also:
- Meaning of life
- Suffering
- Offer in our suffering
- God helper and deliverer
- God's instruction about joy and suffering
- God's promises to us in our suffering
- Suffering - through the apparent silence of God
- Suffering continues
- Suffering leading to joy
- Surprised by time in joys & sufferings
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| Illustration of the pain pathway in René Descartes' Traite de l'homme (Treatise of Man) 1664. The long fiber running from the foot to the cavity in the head is pulled by the heat and releases a fluid that makes the muscles contract. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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