“Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

 In the dark of early morning Tom stood at the bedroom door clutching his side and said, “Cathleen, we need to go to the hospital.” I scurried to throw on the clothes I had set out the night before in anticipation of this possibility. And so, this journey began. It’s been a week!

It all started with pain. Intense, breath-robbing pain. Pain led to the flurry of hurry-up-and-wait in the Emergency Department and the discovery process of blood work and scans that led to one diagnosis, a prescription and release. But there was still pain.

Pain led us back to the ED for more hurry-up-and-wait, more blood work and scans and an additional diagnosis that led to in-patient treatment. That is where we are a week later. Perhaps by the time you read this, he will be home. Thank you for your prayers!

But that isn’t why I write now. I invite you to consider with me the gift of pain. It is human to avoid pain. We often try to ignore or minimize pain in any form. It would be crazy to seek out pain. There is a good chance you are experiencing some kind of pain at this moment. What would it look like to accept that pain as a gift?

I don’t know what kind of pain you are facing. But, if you can receive it as a gift, I know that it will lead to healing, because when we let it, pain leads us to God, the healer of body, mind and spirit.

Pain tells us we need help.  Pain let Tom know that this problem was not one we could solve on our own. Pain led us to seek help. Breath-robbing pain helped the doctors to determine where the infection was and how to treat it. Pain led to healing. That is what makes pain a gift, my friend. Even your pain.

Pain tells us something needs to change.  If there was no pain, Tom would not have known that an infection had moved into his lung and then surrounded it like an advancing army, settling into pockets of fluid, robbing his breath and stealing healthy territory. He would not have sought out help to take back that health. What might your pain — physical, emotional, financial, or otherwise —be telling you?

Pain tells us something is changing. The healing process has brought purposeful pain. And it is not over yet. The infection army is being pushed back, but the battle continues as I write. The campaign involves draining fluid and antibiotic attacks. One of the treatments Tom has received causes pain while it is breaking down the pockets of infection. That is a good thing, but it doesn’t feel good at all! 

God’s treatment plan for you may involve purposeful pain. If you can receive it as a gift your healing will advance and take back what the enemy has stolen from you.

Pain helps you recognize God’s presence as He meets your need. God has been close to us through this whole process. I have been aware of Him on the long walk from the parking garage across the indoor bridge back into another hospital day. Amid the bustle of activity and the whir of the city street below me, I take a deep breath and recognize His presence. “Lord, I can do this with Your help.” And I do because He does.

He has been present in the concerned medical staff applying their knowledge to the best care possible. He has been present in the prayers, texts, calls, and posts of the many who are standing with us on this journey. He has been present in the caring friends who have been able to visit Tom’s bedside. He has been so very present and there are not enough grateful words.

Every pain is meant to send a message. Without it, we wouldn’t know that a flame scars skin or a cut draws blood and opens our system to infection. Financial pain leads us to examine our spending and income. Broken relationships lead us to investigate our own relational patterns and evaluate how to improve. What message is your pain sending you, my friend?

What I most want you to know, Dear Friend, is that your pain is a gift that can lead you closer to God. Whatever is causing your pain, He is with you in it. He wants to walk you through it, wipe away your tears, strengthen your steps. You are not alone in your pain. You are not forgotten. He will lead you, strengthen you and comfort you.

Accept the gift of pain and let it lead you to healing, Dear Friend. It is worth the purposeful pain in the healing process and the awareness of His presence along the way.

 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.”   Psalms 138:7 NIV