John 16:33 These Things I Have Spoken Unto You, That In Me Ye Might Have Peace. In The World Ye Shall Have Tribulation: But Be Of Good Cheer; I Have Overcome The World.

Yes, we have tribulation. We have the tribulation of our pain, from whatever source. However, we have Jesus who came into the world to take us to a place where pain and suffering are no more. We have a Master who has overcome the pain and suffering we feel. We have a Master who destroyed for all time the grip of sin and pain if we accept Him into our life. Certainly, our pain will continue but only for a little while. So even in our pain, we can be of good cheer for the dawn of our new day is almost here. We must not forget we have an eternity waiting. Because we hurt, we do not see the Master's hand reaching down to pick us up to a new place of unlimited joy and peace. However, even when we do not see Him, He is still there reaching down, still loving us, still calling us home.

Psalm 112:7 He Shall Not Be Afraid Of Evil Tidings: His Heart Is Fixed, Trusting In The Lord.

Let's tell the truth. When we hurt a lot or hurt all the time we do become afraid of the bad things to come. We do become afraid of evil tidings. Over time, people who have hurt a lot can develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. However, even if you have PTSD, you can have peace…the peace beyond all understanding. We find peace beyond all understanding when we fix our heart upon Christ. We find peace when we put our trust in Him. With Christ, we have a loving savior who shall solve our every problem, bind our every wound, heal our every infirmity, and take away our every hurt. In Christ, we have no reason to fear the future because He has prepared a place for us full of love, peace, glory, and joy unspeakable. In every pain, we must lift up our broken life to Him. When we struggle to even begin to lift anything at all, Christ sees our struggle and loves us all the more for what we are trying to do in His name and for His glory.

Psalm 57:1 Be Merciful Unto Me, O God, Be Merciful Unto Me: For My Soul Trusteth In Thee: Yea, In The Shadow Of Thy Wings Will I Make My Refuge, Until These Calamities Be Overpast.

In a world impacted by pain, we are too often distrustful because where do we go to find an end to our pain? In God we can always trust, because He will never fail us, hurt us, or make our life more difficult. Christ Jesus is our refuge. In Christ hanging from the cross, we have someone who will take care of us in our hour of need. Look at the terrible irony. Look at the terrible irony of our seeking relief from our pain as Christ suffers the worst pain of all upon the cross. Yet Christ is merciful from His cross. From His cross our Lord pleaded with the Father to forgive those who were crucifying Him. In pain, we are to reach out and reach up to God. In pain, we plead for His mercy.

Matthew 24:6 And Ye Shall Hear Of Wars And Rumours Of Wars: See That Ye Be Not Troubled: For All These Things Must Come To Pass, But The End Is Not Yet.

We live in troubling times. Unemployment, financial chaos, war, natural disasters, crime, international troubles, stock market gyrations, on and on the list could go. When we live in pain we live in our own troubled time. Yet, we must affirm the end of all things is not yet upon us. We must affirm our own end shall not be an end, but a glorious new beginning going on forever. In troubling times, we must draw close to Jesus. We must call upon Him to let us know in ever-increasing ways how He is always with us whether we are in pain or not in pain. At any age, no matter our condition, we serve a mighty God who loves us and cares about us in ways we cannot always know. Even in pain we must trust Him, believe in Him, and call upon Him in our time of trouble knowing full well He will never desert us or leave us.

Romans 8:23 Not Only So, But We Ourselves, Who Have The Firstfruits Of The Spirit, Groan Inwardly As We Wait Eagerly For Our Adoption As Sons, The Redemption Of Our Bodies.

Our bodies are not redeemed in this life. Our bodies on earth are continually attacked and caught up in the temptations Satan puts upon us. Yet we do wait eagerly, even more so because of our pain, for the time when our bodies are changed when we go up to be with Christ in heaven. Our life takes on meaning and purpose because we have the great hope of Christ. What a tragedy is the life of those persons who have no hope, who have no vision of the future, whose future is full of nothing but the outer darkness full of Satan's torment! For those of us whose hope is in Christ, we know we have a future of glory divine. We know Christ will welcome us into our heavenly home full of the immensity of His love. Knowing all this, we can wait patiently even in our pain. We can wait patiently for we know He loves us more than we can express.

2 Cor. 2:11 In Order That Satan Might Not Outwit Us. For We Are Not Unaware Of His Schemes.

Our awareness in pain tends to drop off. In pain, we must heighten our awareness so the pain does not grind us down. The satanic power causing our pain must be met with increased awareness. One of the therapeutic techniques of meditation is to heighten one's awareness of the pain so the pain can be managed and pushed around, lessening the pain's impact. When we pray, we must try to heighten our awareness of Christ in our presence. In heightening our awareness, we are to step back from the influences Satan is trying to put upon us. The more aware we become, the more power God grants us to counterattack Satan and his evil schemes against us.

Matthew 4:10 Jesus Said To Him, "Away From Me, Satan! For It Is Written: 'Worship The Lord Your God, And Serve Him Only.'" 11 Then The Devil Left Him, And Angels Came And Attended Him.

Each of us must take a stand against Satan. We must never give up our war against Satan. We must do all we can to drive satanic evil out of our lives. We are not perfect. We will lose battles in this war. However, we may lose battles but the ultimate outcome of this war against Satan has already been determined. If we maintain our war against Satan, then Satan looses and Christ wins. When we permit Christ to win in us and through us, we win. When we wage war against Satan, the angels of God surround us and lift us up. Eventually, as we battle onward, the angels of God will lift us up to heaven one last and glorious time. No pain must ever deter us. No pain must ever divert us from doing the Lord's work.

Ephes. 5:11 Have Nothing To Do With The Fruitless Deeds Of Darkness, But Rather Expose Them.

We are not to constantly whine and complain in the pain of our suffering. Instead, we are to expose the deeds of darkness or what the pain is doing to us emotionally and spiritually. When we expose what the pain is doing to us, we loosen the grip the pain has upon us. By pain, we mean not just physical pain, but emotional and spiritual pain. We all realize on some level, the pain attacking us is of no benefit except the satanic evil behind our pain. The attack by Satan upon us in the form of pain is meant to destroy us. We are to turn our backs upon Satan, have nothing to do with him or the darkness Satan wants to put upon us.

1 Peter 5:8 Be Self-Controlled And Alert. Your Enemy The Devil Prowls Around Like A Roaring Lion Looking For Someone To Devour. 9 Resist Him, Standing Firm In The Faith, Because You Know That Your Brothers Throughout The World Are Undergoing The Same Kind Of Sufferings.

Satan puts suffering upon you to break you down. Once Satan has broken you, you are Satan's to do with as he pleases. As terrible as these words sound, the truth is obvious. Satan wants slavery. Satan wants you in some form of chains to be bound up by him. We must resist the wiles of Satan. We must resist being broken down by pain and suffering. No matter how much we suffer, Christ will give us power to resist. Eventually, we shall overcome as we live in glory with Christ. We are not the only ones to suffer. Millions, perhaps even billions of people, are suffering much the same way we are suffering. We must resist and fight back against the power of darkness wanting us to give up and give in. To resist and be victorious in this life, we must be self-controlled. Satan does not want us to be self-controlled because if we lose our self-control, then Satan has us in his grasp. When we have self-control, we are able to control our responses to our pain thus permitting Christ to speak to us, even in the depths of our darkness.

Ephes. 6:10 Finally, Be Strong In The Lord And In His Mighty Power. 11 Put On The Full Armor Of God So That You Can Take Your Stand Against The Devil's Schemes.

We are weak. When we are in pain we are even weaker. Satan does not want us being strong because we then have the power to resist Him or stand against Him. We need the full armor of God so we can do battle against Satan and his evil influence in our life. We need the Lord's mighty power. All the time we are weak and helpless, the Lord God, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit are in us, around us, over us, and under us. Sure, we are often blindsided by evil and by the pain evil puts on us. However, we must continually wage war against the powers of this world, namely Satan. We must never just let evil have its way with us. We must never try to be a pacifist with evil. We must be ready to attack evil by praying, fasting, and meditating upon the mighty love of God.

James 4:7 Submit Yourselves, Then, To God. Resist The Devil, And He Will Flee From You.

Resistance can take many forms. We can resist by being passive. We can resist by being active. Going to war can be resistance. No matter how we resist, Satan will not be happy. We do know with certainty, when we resist Satan then he will flee from us. Does this mean we will not be in pain when Satan leaves us alone? No, you may still be in pain but over time, when our time on earth runs out and heaven is our home, we shall celebrate our victory over Satan. Most importantly, if we submit ourselves to God now, then God will give us additional power to help us deal with our pain. God will give us additional armor to protect us from the slings and arrows shot at us by the Evil One.

Zeph. 3:17 The Lord Your God Is With You, He Is Mighty To Save. He Will Take Great Delight In You, He Will Quiet You With His Love, He Will Rejoice Over You With Singing."

In pain we are alone. In pain we seem to have no one with us. However, the real truth is this…Christ really is with us in every moment of our pain and in all the moments when we are not in pain. In pain we need and we do have a mighty God. We need and we do have a mighty God who will pull us away from our pain and take us to a wonderful place called heaven. Of course, we have to wait on God to determine when He wants us up there with Him. When we live as God wants us to live, He really does take great delight in us. When we live as Christ wants us to live, He will rejoice over us with singing. Even in your pain, these great moments can happen to us if we are Christ's child.

Hebrews 1:2-3 But In These Last Days He Has Spoken To Us By His Son, Whom He Appointed Heir Of All Things, And Through Whom He Made The Universe. 3 The Son Is The Radiance Of God's Glory And The Exact Representation Of His Being, Sustaining All Things By His Powerful Word. After He Had Provided Purification For Sins, He Sat Down At The Right Hand Of The Majesty In Heaven.

Look at the words and phrases…"last days"…"heir of all things"…"made the universe"…"radiance of God's glory"…"exact representation"…"sustaining all things"…"purification"…"Majesty in heaven"

When our pain is raging, even raging against us, we have difficulty immersing ourselves into the meaning and power of these words. Those of us who have suffered for decades understand "last days" not only means the days just before Jesus returns, we understand "last days" means our remaining few days before we see Him face to face. The words "heir of all things" means to those of us who suffer that Christ will take all things into His being and in His being we shall not suffer anymore. To us, "made the universe" means what He made He shall unmake to restore all of us to a time and place where pain shall never exist again. The words "radiance of God's glory" means this glory shall beam into our being and in His glory we are healed. "Exact representation" means Jesus is exactly like God, and God is exactly like Jesus. We know the miracles Jesus did before He will do for us now or later. "Sustaining all things" means God and Jesus are holding us in the palm of their hand. Although we hurt, God and Jesus are holding us up until they take us on our glorious last ride into glory-land. The word "purification" for those of us in pain means there will be a future day when our ills, dysfunctions, sicknesses, and issues shall be purified away in God's glory and grace. Finally, there is the phrase "Majesty in heaven." We yearn, we yearn with a burning desire, to see, be with, and be a part of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit…all of which are the Majesty in Heaven.

Col. 1:21 Once You Were Alienated From God And Were Enemies In Your Minds Because Of Your Evil Behavior. 22 But Now He Has Reconciled You By Christ's Physical Body Through Death To Present You Holy In His Sight, Without Blemish And Free From Accusation--

Let's be honest. Pain turns us into someone we do not want to be. Who wants to be a wounded duck (perhaps better than a dead duck )? Pain makes us do things we would not normally do. If we use our utmost will power, pain can soften us so God can mold us and shape us. However, most often pain makes us do what we know in our heart is not the will of God. Satan uses pain to alienate us from God. In our alienated state of pain, Christ came to bring us to God free of our behaviors, free of our suffering, and free of our pain. Christ came to take away our hurts forever when we see Him in heaven.

John 10:17 The Reason My Father Loves Me Is That I Lay Down My Life--Only To Take It Up Again.

What does Jesus laying down His life only to take it up again have to do with your life and your pain? Let's look at things this way. Let's say you have been in pain for a very very long time. You want your pain to leave because your life is the pits when you are hurting. If you lived your life, ignored Christ, and died in your pain, wouldn't your ultimate punishment be eternal pain or eternal pain of nothingness? To hurt is one thing, but to hurt for no reason and to end up in just a black nothing after you hurt so much in this life is the ultimate hurt of hurts. Jesus died so you could live forever pain free. We do not know all about heaven because we have never been there. What we do know is there is no hurt in heaven. The power and influence of Satan joyfully creates your hurt. There is no hurt in heaven because the power and influence of Satan is kept out of heaven. You have an opportunity to have an eternal pain-free life because Christ gave up His life for you. Christ gave up His life so you would have a chance to live forever. This very moment as you read these words, Christ is calling you to turn away from the power of Satan in your life. Turn away from your sin and sinful desires. Turn away from Satan always making you hurt. Turn away and accept Christ as the only power who can save you form the worst hurt of all…eternal outer darkness full of nothing except torment.

1 John 4:10 This Is Love: Not That We Loved God, But That He Loved Us And Sent His Son As An Atoning Sacrifice For Our Sins.

As big as our pain or problem is or can become, no pain or problem is bigger than the love God has for us. No pain or problem is bigger then Christ's atoning sacrifice for us. As desperate as we can be in needing answers, solutions, or healing, the love of God is bigger than anything in all of time. To find relief from our pain, we must immerse our pain in the love God has for us in the here and now. If we do not find relief, and sometimes we will not, we must keep immersing our soul in Christ's love. The more we immerse our soul in God, the more invincible we become. We will not become Superman or Superwoman in this life. However, we will become greater than any fictional character when we see Jesus face to face. Some of God's invincible power is waiting for us right now. The rest of God's invincible power is waiting to be inherited, absorbed, transferred, or washed over us when we see Him for the first time in Heaven.

1 John 4:19 We Love Because He First Loved Us.

When we are in pain we too often feel hate because of the pain. We often hate the pain. In our pain we do not love. Our discontent in pain spills over and our relationships are hurt. Our relationships break or become broken. In pain we must exert maximum effort to show caring, compassion, and love toward others. In pain, we so often want to ignore others and focus on ourselves. In our pain we must think more about Christ than about anything else, including our pain. In our pain, we must think more about the love of Christ pouring down from His cross to us as we kneel before Him. We are empowered to love because Christ first loved us. The love of Christ may not take away our pain, but His love empowers us to love in spite of our pain.

Deut. 7:7 The Lord Did Not Set His Affection On You And Choose You Because You Were More Numerous Than Other Peoples, For You Were The Fewest Of All Peoples. 8 But It Was Because The Lord Loved You And Kept The Oath He Swore To Your Forefathers That He Brought You Out With A Mighty Hand And Redeemed You From The Land Of Slavery, From The Power Of Pharaoh King Of Egypt.

If the Lord loves me, then why am I in pain? If the Lord loves me, why doesn't He make my pain go away? These questions have been asked millions, perhaps billions of times. These questions deserve answers. One answer to these questions is: because Satan hates you at the same time God loves you. Satan hates you so much Satan will eventually take away your earthly life. God through Christ His Son loves you so much Christ came to earth to save you so you can live in heaven forever…free of all pain, free of all hurt, living in peace, love, and harmony with God forever and ever. Why doesn't God stop Satan now so my suffering will stop? For this question we do not have a ready satisfying answer. One answer to this question about why God does not stop Satan is "It is not time yet for God to act." This answer is a "you have to wait" answer. This answer even leaves us in a place where we can doubt God loves us. However, we must keep our faith in Christ until we see Him face to face. No matter how much we hurt, or no matter how many unanswered questions remain in our heart, mind, and soul, we must push onward every moment to our eternal shining moment when we are at last, Home with God.

Luke 1:45 Blessed Is She Who Has Believed That What The Lord Has Said To Her Will Be Accomplished!"

Do you really believe the words of scripture or do you just think the gospel is "interesting?" The power of your willing to believe and the power of your willing to take the truth of the gospel into your being so you do not doubt the word of God will be an enormous blessing to you. The blessing to you will come in the form of a healing beyond our present level of understanding. The blessing to you will be a power flowing in you in such great amount the blessing will cause you to doubt less and believe more.

Genesis 32:28 Then The Man Said, "Your Name Will No Longer Be Jacob, But Israel, Because You Have Struggled With God And With Men And Have Overcome."

Those of us who live in pain struggle. We can look around and think we see people who lost the struggle. We look around and can see people who finally gave up because they couldn't keep going. No matter what we see, in terms of the losses of this world, we are still supposed to hang on and fight to the very end. Certainly, the very end can be full of the bitter fruits of our pain but the millisecond past the end…YEE HA!!!! What we do not see is how we overcome in our struggle. When our pain is unrelenting and unforgiving, we are blinded to the fact we can overcome the world when we reach up to Christ. When we are old, our days on earth grow shorter and we know it. Even in our struggles of old age, we must be like Jacob and struggle onward. What we achieve when we overcome is infinite and infinity in Christ's love. What we achieve when we struggle onward cannot be measured in any human way. Every time we want to stop but we struggle on, inch by inch to be God's child, we bless God and His kingdom. On earth and in heaven there are angels. When we want to quit, the Lord's angels surround us to tell us "just a while longer."

Luke 17:5 The Apostles Said To The Lord, "Increase Our Faith!"

What incredible magnificent honesty! The apostles recognized their lack of faith. They recognized the necessity of faith. The apostles asked the power of powers to increase their faith. We too, must plead with God to increase our faith. Our faith is the cornerstone of our life with Christ. We cannot readily survive without a strong faith in Christ Jesus. We do not have enough faith. However, Christ will be our guide. He will give us what we need…even our faith. Our pain erodes our faith. Because our pain erodes our faith, Christ stands to help us, support us, and heal us. When we are honest with God about our lack of faith, He comes to us to help us in all manner of ways.

Mark 9:23 " 'If You Can'?" Said Jesus. "Everything Is Possible For Him Who Believes."

Our pain plants the seeds of our doubt. Our Jesus attacks our doubt by asking us to believe. Jesus asks us to believe so we will open up the infinity of His love and power. When we believe in Him and in His truth, our belief opens the door of His eternal reality for us. We too often miss the infinite because we "want it now." When we look beyond our selfish wants dominated by satanic evil, we can begin to get an inkling of how everything is possible. "Everything" is a lot. "Everything" is the infinite.

Mark 11:22 "Have Faith In God," Jesus Answered. 23 "I Tell You The Truth, If Anyone Says To This Mountain, 'Go, Throw Yourself Into The Sea,' And Does Not Doubt In His Heart But Believes That What He Says Will Happen, It Will Be Done For Him. 24 Therefore I Tell You, Whatever You Ask For In Prayer, Believe That You Have Received It, And It Will Be Yours.

Mark 11:22 "Have Faith In God," Jesus Answered. 23 "I Tell You The Truth, If Anyone Says To This Mountain, 'Go, Throw Yourself Into The Sea,' And Does Not Doubt In His Heart But Believes That What He Says Will Happen, It Will Be Done For Him. 24 Therefore I Tell You, Whatever You Ask For In Prayer, Believe That You Have Received It, And It Will Be Yours.

Our pain makes us DISbelieve. In this verse, we see our unlimited Christ the Lord speak about…His true abilities, God the Father's true abilities, and the Holy Spirit's true abilities. There is no secret God can do anything and all things. There is no secret about the unlimited nature of what God can do. To fully understand and fully grasp the meaning of this verse in the context of our pain, we must remember our little reality is tiny compared to all God has created, can create, and will create. Even if we consider God ONLY created just our reality, the human race will likely cease to exist before we know all there is to know about all things in our reality. We do know God never lies. He never "adjusts" the truth. God does not "shade" the truth. These words, about the outcome of what you believe, are the whole truth, spoken to you by our God of truth. You can believe this moment you pain will be no more. The consequence of your belief is…you pain will be no more…maybe not today, but in the future…your pain will be no more.

Romans 4:20 Yet He Did Not Waver Through Unbelief Regarding The Promise Of God, But Was Strengthened In His Faith And Gave Glory To God,

The greatest gift and glory we can give to God is our faithfulness even in our pain. Our terrible enemy, Satan, wants to destroy our faith. Satan wants us to curse God and blame God for every ill, every adversity, and every pain. For this very reason, we must never relent in our faith in God, never give up our faith, and never turn away from God in any circumstance. Even when we are not sure…even when we may not know…we must hold and treasure the promise of a new time, a new day, even a new life within our soul now and a new life to come in the bliss of our hereafter. For when we hold on in the here and now, we have a mighty power who owns the hereafter. In Christ's hereafter of love and grace, He shall be with us and empower us in His love forever. Giving God the glory even when our moments are rotten, enhances God power in others here on earth. Giving God the glory in love, even in your moments of desperation, magnifies Him in every part of your life…now and forever.

Romans 6:16 Don't You Know That When You Offer Yourselves To Someone To Obey Him As Slaves, You Are Slaves To The One Whom You Obey--Whether You Are Slaves To Sin, Which Leads To Death, Or To Obedience, Which Leads To Righteousness?

Are you a slave to your pain? Does your pain rule over your life as if your pain is your slave master? Have you "offered yourself" to your pain as a slave? Have you stood firm against letting your pain rule over you? These are not superficial questions. These are not hypothetical questions. These questions are the real deal in terms of how you relate to your pain. Our Father in heaven and Christ His Son do not want us living in slavery. We may be helpless about some parts of our pain. We are not helpless about how we relate to our pain. We are not helpless about what we let our pain do to us. We are to live in obedience to God's word for our life. When we live in obedience to God's word, in spite of pain and problems, we have life now and forever after if we accept Christ as Lord and Savior. You have a life, even in pain, when Christ is your Lord. You have no life in your pain if you have not made Christ your Lord. Billions of people have lived in pain for years and years. If we could do a supernatural survey to see into the life of these billions, we would find those persons who accepted Christ as their guide and savior we more alive, happier, more joyful, and more hope-filled than those who had not accepted Christ. With Christ there is hope. Without Christ there is nothing.

1 Peter 4:10 Each One Should Use Whatever Gift He Has Received To Serve Others, Faithfully Administering God's Grace In Its Various Forms.

Pain is a gift. What?!?!? No! Say it ain't so!!!! How on anyone's earth could pain be a gift?!?! God works His will in mystery. Many times we do not understand anything about the workings of God. We do not understand many times how God uses pain. God does not inflict pain upon us. Pain is inflicted by Satan who is our enemy. Although God does not inflict the pain, God is more than happy to use our pain to make us more of the kind of person He wants us to be. When we hurt, we must keep in mind we are to align our will with God's will. We are to align our will with God's will and be more of the person He would have us be. When we are God's person, even in our pain, God scores ultimate victories through our life. Even in our pain we are to use our pain in whatever way possible "to serve others faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." Of course serving God in our pain is hard to do. However, would God have you be any other way than a faithful servant in your pain?

Luke 12:48 But The One Who Does Not Know And Does Things Deserving Punishment Will Be Beaten With Few Blows. From Everyone Who Has Been Given Much, Much Will Be Demanded; And From The One Who Has Been Entrusted With Much, Much More Will Be Asked.

For each of us, there is reason and purpose in the unfairness of our suffering. Our pain makes for a great unfairness in life. So many times we see the unfairness but we do not understand the unfairness. It would seem unfair for so many people to have an apparent life of ease when they do not deserve such a life. Conversely, it would seem unfair for a person to have a life of pain and hardship when a life of pain and hardship seems undeserved. However, God is a difficult task-master at times in this life. In this life, God wants our best, even when we are at out worst. God wants us to find victory even in the worst moments of our seeming defeat. This verse explains to us why life seems unfair. Life seems unfair because God wants more than our all. The more God gives us, the more God wants us to produce for Him and for His kingdom. We might not like this part of God's will. However, this part of God's will exists to bring His glory upon the earth. God is not about the easy way. God is not about the broad way where all things are free and easy. God's way is not about the easy way of evil. God's way is about the hard narrow road. Even to the very end of our life, God's way is so often narrow and difficult. However, God's difficult narrow way leads to an eternity with Him. God's narrow way leads to an eternity of ease, joy, bliss, love, and wonderment the magnitude of which we cannot know nor express.