What Happens When You Hurt

A lot of people suffer in life. One of the greatest lies that we tell is that by accepting Christ, we will somehow be exempt from suffering and pain. We sometimes get the promises of heaven in Revelation 21 confused with the here and now. Revelation 21:4 says, "He [God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." This is the hope of every believer in Christ. It is the reward that we get when we are finally in our home. The only problem is that while it is a reality that we will one day get to live in a perfect world where there is no sickness, pain, or death, the present reality is that we are not there yet.

Currently, we live in a world that is plagued by pain and sickness. It is plagued by death. Many people suffer unjustly and curse God for allowing it. We do so without realizing that God is not the author of these things, but that they are brought upon ourselves through sin. We can blame Adam and Eve for introducing them, but have you ever stopped before you told that lie and said, "I'm so glad that my sin is going to cause pain." Have you ever thought about the damage that your sin causes to others when you violate God's commandments. We all sin and we all hurt those we love, but somehow when we are on the receiving end, we fail to realize that sin is the root cause of our pain.

However, not only do we fail to recognize that sin is the cause of our pain, but we also fail to realize that God, in His great mercy and grace, uses our pain to help us and others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says,

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

God is there to not only comfort us when we are experiencing pain and affliction, but He is also able to use the trials in our lives to comfort others. Isn't it great how God plans things. This passage is further proof of the fact that Christianity is not an isolationist religion, but we are designed for community together with one another. God wants us to relate to one another, and when we experience pain, others come along side us to comfort us. But when we have been through a trial and come back out of it and we see our brother suffering, we can run along side of that person and provide comfort and help to them. Also, we can share in Christ's sufferings when we suffer. We can experience a taste of what He went through and we can rejoice that He bore our transgressions and our iniquities were upon Him and by His wounds we are healed (Is. 53). So when you feel like God doesn't care and you wonder what's going on when you suffer, remember that God is actively at work. He loves you and cares for you and one day there will be no more pain. While there is pain, let's work alongside of God and minister with Him!