Not sure if you do this but whenever I drop something, my first instinct is to try and catch it with my foot. I’ve never played soccer and honestly have never actually caught anything with my foot. This reflex of mine is really not fun when I drop a can of soup or a hammer. Pain can sometimes be so overwhelming. Not soup can pain but real life, what-in-the-world-is-going-on pain. It can paralyze you and make you feel hopeless. A close friend recently sent me a short clip from a message by Brian Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Brian said something that is daily changing my view of pain: “In heaven there won’t be any pain, confusion or loss so I embrace my moment of pain now and give him praise because that’s an offering I can never give him in heaven”. (You can watch the clip here if you have Instagram)
2017 ended with a trip to the ER after my 15yr old son began complaining of chest pain. After hearing the words “heart failure” he wound up staying in CVICU (Cardio Vascular Intensive Care Unit) for over 3 weeks (and another week in a second room at Phoenix Children’s Hospital). We are now home waiting on a transplant. As a parent, watching your kid hurt and not be able to help is by far the most painful experience I can think of. I’ve watched him question, fight, get tired, and have had some pretty difficult conversations with him.
Then there was Brian’s message my friend sent me. Pain and suffering are a few offerings that we can only offer God here on Earth. Let that soak in for a second if you are in a spot of pain right now. You can’t offer your pain as an offering to God if what we believe about Heaven is true. This life is the only time we will get to offer our pain to God. I think we do this by being real. Pretending before God is a big waste of time and doesn’t do anything but increase frustration. What would your life look like if you took the pain you are feeling right now and gave it to God as an offering? You place it before Him as a sacrifice, which means you totally let it go, and allowed God to be God. Jesus is big enough to handle our pain. He is big enough to handle our questions and our sorrow. I think the way to do this is when pain shows up (and brings his friends anger, worry, fear), you stop and ask God to take it. You make it your habit to ask God to take you fear, your pain, your worry. It’s a much better alternative than carrying it around with you and being buried by its weight.
Giving our pain to God as an offering is where hope is found. When our pain becomes an offering it is a form of worship. There is hope in worship because it is us giving God the place of authority over our pain. There is a crazy gift exchange that happens when we give God our pain. He takes it and in its place gives us His grace, His comfort, His peace. He takes our pain and replaces it with His love. I’m not sure how it happens but I have felt it first hand and it’s amazing. And free. And for everyone.
“At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the Words of the Holy One.” Job 6:10
If you have ever wondered where God is during your pain, a great book that has pulled me through some pretty dark thoughts and times is The Problem With Pain by C.S. Lewis. You can buy a copy here.