Praising in Pain - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Meandering Monday where we meander back in time to a previously published devotion. 

But how can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a pagan land? Psalm 137:4 NLT

Pain and praise don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

The moment I chomped down on the delicious bite of food, I knew I was in trouble. A sharp pain seized my jaw on the opposite side of which I chewed. Bouts with TMJ (Temporomandibular joint) aren’t fun, and I didn’t have time for it now. Eating became painful rather than pleasurable. When I had endured all I could stand, I called a local chiropractor in hopes of receiving relief. After two treatments, I enjoyed my meals again.

The psalmist—along with thousands of other exiles—languished in captivity in a foreign land, far away from God’s temple in Jerusalem. Serving foreign rulers proved painful. How could he and the other exiles possibly praise God in such unpleasant circumstances?

Despite its unpleasantness, pain teaches valuable lessons in patience and dependence. Praising in the pain reminds us Christ is our Great Physician. We depend on Him for healing, regardless of whether we visit a physician or not. Ultimately, he is our healer and the One who gives us the strength to endure pain when it is short and long-lived.

Praising in the pain forces us to look to the future. For believers, a bright eternity is promised—one where the pain is absent. The culprit of bodies afflicted by sin is pain, but in heaven bodies free of sin will be souls free of pain.

Praising when in pain maintains a good perspective. God never promised a pain-free life. When we praise despite the pain, we’re reminded He’s in control of the intensity and duration of our misery. Responding to our aches in a godly manner allows us to use our experiences to help others. Our response to pain shows others how God gives us the strength to face, endure, and overcome unpleasant situations in life without adopting bitterness toward God.

Are you praising in your pain?

Prayer: Eternal God, remind us that You are the master of our bodies and will give us the power to praise You even in our pain.

Tweetable: Have you learned to praise in the pain? 

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The Pain of Living - Martin Wiles

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NLT

Pain is your friend.

Or so I’ve been told. Perhaps I read it. Maybe a doctor told me. Probably I learned it through experience. My continuous back pain alerted me that something was wrong. When exercises didn’t help—and when the pain continued for an extended period of time—the doctor ordered an MRI. The diagnosis? Arthritis and scoliosis of the spine. The MRI didn’t make the pain go away, but at least I knew the reason for the pain.

And my aching knees. When I cannot step up on a ladder or even a footstool without stabbing pain, I know something is wrong. Although I haven’t had tests to reveal the culprit, I know they are worn out—or at least on the way to being. The years my brother, daughter, and I hiked in the mountains did it I’m sure. Nothing to do but have a knee replacement, but I’ll not do that until it’s necessary. I’ve seen the pain others have endured to “fix” the pain.

Pain often seems more like an enemy than a friend. Something I want to defeat. Something I want to go away. But deep inside, I know it’s my friend. And more than physical pain.

Paul said he had been crucified with Christ and that Christ now lived in him.

Crucifixion wasn’t anything to sneeze at. The process involved horrible elements as history notes—and as the example of Jesus illustrates. Victims normally died because of exhaustion or asphyxiation, not necessarily because of the pain of what had preceded the crucifixion or from the spikes in their hands and feet.

Jesus’ pain differed because His involved more than physical pain. He endured the pain of the world’s sin upon Himself. A price paid with a different type of pain. One that involved having His Father temporarily turn His back on Him.

When I accept what Christ has done, His pain becomes mine. I die on that cross with Him, enduring the pain of giving all of my sins to Him and letting His blood cover them. Painful because in my humanness I’d rather keep the sins … relish in them … savor them.

Once we endure the pain of letting our sins go, Christ comes to live in us and bathes us in His righteousness. For the first time—and forever—victorious living belongs to us. The pain of doing life on our own disappears. Christ lives in and through us. We possess resurrection power. The joy of living replaces the pain of living. 

Let Christ replace your pain of living with joy.

Prayer: Father, thank You for replacing the pain of living with the joy of living.

Tweetable: Is pain stealing your joy? 

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Throwback Tuesday - Pain is Temporary - Martin Wiles

Pain is Temporary

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”

What better person to pen these words than Corrie ten Boom since she was a survivor of World War II Nazi death camps. Her family helped many Jews escape Nazi Germany, but on February 28, 1944, they were all arrested for their crimes and shipped off to Scheveningen prison. 

Two of her family members—along with a nephew, were released immediately. One died 10 days later. Corrie and a remaining sister were shipped to another prison camp and then another where Corrie’s sister died on December 28, 1944. Before dying, she related to Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still.” Twelve days later, Corrie was released. Read more...

Tweetable: How do you deal with pain?

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Things Change - Martin Wiles

“Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20 NLT

The day was normal, until . . .

“I think I have a kidney stone,” my wife said.

She really didn’t have to think. She’s a returning customer and recognized the pain. By the time I got home from work, she was crying.

“I can’t go visiting with you,” she mumbled.

We had planned to visit a gentleman in the church who neared the end of life. I went alone, praying for him and silently praying I wouldn’t have to take my wife to the emergency room. Since she already wears a pain patch for arthritis, she couldn’t take anything else.

I knew things would change . . . eventually. The stone would either quit moving, pass, or require surgery. All three had happened before. Whichever happened, things would get better.

Life was about to change for the first disciples too. As Jesus meandered along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he witnessed Peter and Andrew performing their normal routine: fishing. No doubt, an uncertain occupation. A lot of casting nets, but sometimes not much in them when they drew them in. Jesus tells them to leave that life and follow Him.

An element of uncertainty always accompanies change. These two disciples had certainly heard of Jesus, but to leave their livelihood to follow someone they only knew by name surely brought uneasiness. My wife experienced the same. Uncertainty over what would happen to the stone.

For change to go well, faith must supplement it. How would they eat? Where would they stay? How would people react to them? What exactly would Jesus ask them to do? All questions that no doubt circulated through Peter and Andrew’s minds. Yet, they took a step of faith and followed. For my wife? She has faith God will take care of the stone—one way or another.

Change is unsettling, but less so when I believe a better future lies ahead. It did for the disciples. Tough days lay ahead, but they would be a part of a movement that would change the world. God always has a better future ahead when He asks us to change directions. For my wife, something would happen to the stone, and whatever happened her pain would get better.

Don’t fear change. When God initiates it in your life, He has better things in store.

Tweetable: How do you respond to change?

Prayer: Father, give us the faith to trust You when You take us through periods of change. 

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Throwback Tuesday - Praising Through Pain - Martin Wiles

Praising Though Pain

Praising God when things are going well is easy; praising him in painful situations is more difficult—some think impossible. 

My wife and I discovered this after inviting our adult son to live with us. Having been kicked out of his residence for using drugs, he had nowhere to go. Our hearts reached out to him. After reassurance he was no longer using drugs, we consented to let him stay with us temporarily. Little did we know he was going through withdrawal. Threats, angry outbursts, and other undesirable traits furiously emerged. A painful situation it was difficult to praise God in and for. Read more...

Tweetable: Can you praise God through pain?

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