Pushing through the Pain

Some musings of mine from not that long ago... it's funny to look at this and learn from my insights. And it's snowy out and I was bored so I was reading a lot of what I've been writing the last few months... It's rough work, my pure thoughts.

In the Bible there’s a great analogy using childbirth as an example of what can come from pain. Through pushing through (literally) extreme agony (or so I hear) a mother is rewarded with a child.

There are days when I wonder what else could go wrong. Days when I’m unsure of where to turn, or even if it’s worth getting up for the day. Days in which I know will bring heartache as I stand at the grave of another friend or family member. But I’ve increasingly noticed that those days are also filled with an inexplicable joy. Well, not completely inexplicable, I know who and where I draw my strength from. There’s something amazing about having the right perspective. There’s something amazing that comes through relying on a strength that far outweighs my own. Does this mean that I never experience despair or utter aloneness? Certainly not. But it does mean that I can grasp onto a reality that extends beyond that despair and that reaches out to me through my loneliness.

One day during a moment of deep-seated sadness I did what I know I should always do and turned to my Bible. I felt led to read 1 Peter, which ‘conveniently’ deals much with the issue of suffering. It didn’t take long before the tears started to spring to my eyes as I was reminded in verse three that I have a living hope. Something so simple, yet so important. God gave His life for me so that I could have a constant hope, a hope that doesn’t die, but lives. I often think about clinging to hope, or desperately searching for hope. This verse reminded me that I don’t have to search or cling. I don’t need to cling to hope, God has poured it into my heart (Romans 5) and it is living, not something I have to worry will abandon me or head to the grave.

Not only that, but God has given me purposeful pain. You may be familiar with the process of refining gold. Gold is put into fire in order to make it pure, the impurities within this precious metal float to the surface and are skimmed off. Without the fire, the gold would stay impure. 1 Peter also addresses that exact analogy and goes on further to say that though we can’t see Jesus or be with Him at this exact moment, we can rejoice with an inexpressible joy.