Tragedy Strikes
Recently my wife and I were invited to speak at a church and I was asked if God sends pain into the world. That’s a loaded question if I have ever heard one! After I thanked the person who asked me and tried unsuccessfully to turn the question over to my wife, I answered it the best I could.
My answer to that question comes out of my own experience and what I believe to be true of the character and desire of my Father (Jehovah). I think that it’s a pretty accepted belief that a life with Jesus is an abundant life. A life that is much better than a life without Him. That is what Jesus taught. But I don’t know how many people truly believe it. The question is “Why don’t we believe it?”
I think that most of us have been caught off-guard when after we accept Jesus and turn our lives over to Him or re-dedicate our lives to Him, things get worse; not better! We are so surprised and devastated when our lives are shaken to the core after we make a decision for Jesus and my question is “Why are we so surprised?”
I lived 26 years mostly in rebellion. I walked away from God for so long. It only stands to reason that when we walk away from God we are walking toward Satan. By rejecting God I opened my life up to Satan in many different ways. The result was bondage, addiction, ungodly relationships, idols and many other things. When I finally chose to surrender, all of that bondage and ugliness had to leave. Why in the world would I ever think that process would be an easy one with no pain?
When we commit to Jesus the enemy must be removed from inside of us along with all of his influences outside of us. I’m sorry to say this but that combination will equal physical AND emotional pain as addictions and bondage die on the inside and ungodly relationships and idols die on the outside! The process isn’t out of Egypt and straight into the Promised Land. It’s out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The Promised Land is the abundant life Jesus promises but we have to go through the wilderness to get there and it’s a place full of pain and our refinement or purification. The wilderness is where people leave us, our bodies go through withdrawals from addictions, Idol’s are stripped away in whatever form they are in (money, jobs, homes, material possessions, family members, health etc.) and more.
However, even in the wilderness there is a bright spot. Our Father (Jehovah) promises to be there every step of the way to hold us and encourage us. It’s even in that place of pain where our relationship with Father shifts to true intimacy as we fall in love with Him and He lets us lean on Him as we take the steps forward. It’s where we learn that He is all we need to survive. (Hosea 2). And if we continue forward with perseverance through the pain, Father will lead us to the Promised Land.
The wilderness is destruction but the Promised Land is restoration. If we make it through the wilderness we will begin to see Father restore the things we have lost. Satan steals and God restores. We will begin to see things return to us that were lost but instead of them being ungodly there are Godly because they don’t represent what they used to. Our hearts have been transformed! The things that are returned may not look exactly like they did before we entered the wilderness but they will be so much more than anything we can imagine!
The great tragedy is that so many stop and give up when the pain of the wilderness is encountered. So many decide that the pain is too much and they go back to Egypt. Do we realize that we forfeit the Promised Land when we give up? That’s why I said earlier that I don’t think there are a lot of people who truly believe Jesus offers abundant life because only a few are willing to endure the pain to get there. If we truly believe on Jesus we will endure the pain! If we don’t we will turn and run.
There is so much language in the Bible about persevering and taking courage I don’t know why we haven’t been able to view the journey in a realistic perspective. Jesus said that the road is narrow and hard that leads to life.
I think we need to remember something very important. Father loves us so much that when we first ask Jesus to save us or when we recommit our lives to Him at conferences and services He is going to take us seriously and immediately lead us into the wilderness to be purified. Remember that next time you’re about to commit your heart to Him and count the cost because if you’re not willing to endure the pain you will never reach the Promised Land.
So I guess my answer to the question is no, God doesn’t send pain. Our pain is a result of our sins and the sins of others. Satan is the author of pain and God is the author of healing and Life!
Jesse Birkey
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