Pain and suffering is an inevitable part of life in this world. As much as we may resist it, sooner or later it finds us. For most of Thanksgiving and now into the Christmas season, I’ve been sitting here with intense pain and spasms from a near miss auto accident. I’ve actually battled back, neck and disc pain for over forty years from a high speed head on crash while in my 20’s. I see more and more each day, each painful episode of life gives us an opportunity to know Him more intimately, in His faithfulness, His presence, love and beauty, as well as identifying with His suffering.
In our pain and weakness God comes with His comfort and peace. In our loneliness, He comes as a friend and teacher. In our times of discouragement He comes as the God of Hope. He teaches us there are moments in life to simply embrace the pain and allow Him to do His deep work and bring healing and new life. We find ourselves alone with HIm, and in this time a deeper more intimate relationship and understanding of HIm and His ways begins to form. In this time we begin to understand that He has never left us or forsaken us. He is always present to guide and comfort, and in our pain and by His word, He changes us a little each day into more of His image.
May this Christmas and New Year season, whatever your situation, find you wrapped in HIs arms of comfort and peace as He changes you to appear like more of HIm.
Father, thank you that you are always with us, especially in times of pain and discomfort. Thank You for strengthening us and imparting to us greater peace as we learn to surrender our circumstances to You, so You may have Your way and complete Your divine word within us. Thank You for the lessons of patience and waiting as You change our hearts; and thank You in these moments of developing an attitude of thankfulness for the little things of life that expand in our eyes and hearts. Where our appreciation grows in the things we often take for granted, as they burst forth in beauty and brilliance revealing Your omnipotence and majesty.
And now during this sacred season and new year, “May the God of all comfort, who comforts 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. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:4-5).
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New year!
In His Love,
