Psalm 89:19 Once You Spoke In A Vision, To Your Faithful People You Said: "I Have Bestowed Strength On A Warrior; I Have Exalted A Young Man From Among The People."

No matter whom we are, male, female, rich, or poor, we are empowered by God. None of us will ever know the full extent of our empowerment by God until we see Christ face to face. When we are broken, in pain, fallen, defeated, or helpless, we must keep in mind we are empowered by God, even in the sorry state in which we may find ourselves. Each of us can be a warrior against the pervasive darkness all around us. God fully expects each of us to be His warrior on the earth. God expects us to be His warrior using His weapons of love, forgiveness, and holy contrition. In every case, God wants us to deliver victory for Him. In delivering victory for Him, we in turn achieve victory for ourselves.

John 3:18 Whoever Believes In Him Is Not Condemned, But Whoever Does Not Believe Stands Condemned Already Because He Has Not Believed In The Name Of God's One And Only Son.

Our pain must never be an excuse. God is more glorified when we come against the pain by being holy, godly, and devout than when we turn away from Him because of our pain. What we must strive to do at all costs is to maintain and grow our faith. Our pain is only temporary on this earth. Our life in heaven with Christ is eternal. We can live with our pain when we live minute to minute. We must be self-controlled and self-disciplined so our faith dominates our pain rather than letting our pain dominate our faith. God will always preserve your capacity to believe and have faith. Our job is to use our capacity to believe as we direct our faith toward God Almighty.

Romans 5:20 The Law Was Added So That The Trespass Might Increase. But Where Sin Increased, Grace Increased All The More,

We are all sinners. When we hurt, we are even more susceptible to doing wrong things. Our Lord is a god of grace. God wants to forgive us. God does not want to hold anything against us, whether we are in pain or not in pain. We must recognize, just because we are in pain does not give us an excuse not to exert ourselves toward being righteous. Whether we are in pain or not in pain, we must go to God to seek His forgiveness when we falter. The worst pain of all is the pain felt when a person turns away from God. Yet, even when we turn away from God, He still loves us and wants us to return to Him. When we return to Him, His healing grace is infinite.

Jude 1:24 To Him Who Is Able To Keep You From Falling And To Present You Before His Glorious Presence Without Fault And With Great Joy--

Let us tell the truth. In our worldly pain we have fallen, we cannot get up, and we often lack the hope we will ever walk again. However, our worldly observations, even our worldly truth leaves us sorely lacking. What we find in the scripture in general and in the above verse in particular is the reassurance we will stand in the glorious presence of God. Through Christ and our repentance, we will stand before God without any fault. On the day of our appearing before Him, we will be without any fault whatsoever. Before Christ in Heaven, we will have an eternity of great joy. In the pain of our existence on earth, we are robbed of our joy, but we shall be in joy eternal when we see Jesus face to face.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He Is Able To Save Completely Those Who Come To God Through Him, Because He Always Lives To Intercede For Them.

What we cannot do on our own, Christ will do with us, or for us. For all the moments of pain we want erased, Christ will erase. For all those people we want to live in eternity in Christ's heaven, somehow, some way, Christ will bring them to Himself in heaven if they are willing. In our ego, we want to be the one who determines a person's fate. However, we are not the great intercessor. Christ is the great intercessor. Our pain makes us forget who we serve. Our pain makes us want to serve ourselves rather than the Lord. In our efforts to intercede for others, we must pray for them trusting the Lord hears our prayers. Our pain often makes us want to arrange and organize our world, when instead, we must trust the Lord to take His actions in His wisdom and grace, according to His sweet will.

Romans 8:35 Who Shall Separate Us From The Love Of Christ? Shall Trouble Or Hardship Or Persecution Or Famine Or Nakedness Or Danger Or Sword?

No. Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ except when we give up and go Satan's way. Even when we go Satan's way, our Lord Jesus continually calls us to come to Him. Our pain can make us want to turn away from Christ. When we rebel because of our pain and we seem to have lost Christ, we must repent or turn away from our rebellion. When we rebel, our Lord Jesus weeps for us. In our reality, Christ does not often turn us to His way by invading our life. Christ wants us to come to Him of our own volition. Christ wants us to glorify Him of our own free will. Even in our pain, when we submit our heart, life, and soul to Christ, we too shall exclaim we shall not be separated from Him. We too shall exclaim, neither trouble, nor hardship, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor danger, nor sword, and not even our pain shall separate us from the love of God.

Romans 8:38 For I Am Convinced That Neither Death Nor Life, Neither Angels Nor Demons, Neither The Present Nor The Future, Nor Any Powers, 39 Neither Height Nor Depth, Nor Anything Else In All Creation, Will Be Able To Separate Us From The Love Of God That Is In Christ Jesus Our Lord.

Pain separates us. Pain afflicts our heart and mind. In pain we think we are separated from the love of God. The satanic power of evil causing our pain wants us to cast aside all faith. The satanic power of evil is now, and will continue to try in the future, to get us to deny there is a God. However, the power of God's love and grace is stronger than any darkness. Within the power of God's love and grace, we will always be with Him and He will always be with us. We must not be deceived by the evil one. The power of God is within us every moment. The power of God will keep us in the palm of Christ's nail-scarred hand. For every moment we spend in pain, God has moved heaven so we have other infinite moments in comfort, joy, peace, and love in heaven.

Matthew 28:20 And Teaching Them To Obey Everything I Have Commanded You. And Surely I Am With You Always, To The Very End Of The Age."

We live in an ever-changing world. No one can keep up on all the changes and developments occurring before us. No matter how fast information travels, no matter how many sources of information we have, we cannot keep up. Amidst the swirl of changes in our life, one part of our life remains the same, His name is Jesus. In faith, we know He shall never leave us. We know He will indeed be with us until all things are no more. In faith, we know past the time when things are no more or even before that time, we shall see Him face to face. People, places, and things in our life are changing by the second, yet we have a Friend who will never change.

2 Tim. 4:17 But The Lord Stood At My Side And Gave Me Strength, So That Through Me The Message Might Be Fully Proclaimed And All The Gentiles Might Hear It. And I Was Delivered From The Lion's Mouth.

The Lord has in the past and will deliver us in the future from many dangers. We do not often know what the Lord is doing and when He is doing it. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is our (often) silent partner. We do not generally receive audible instructions. We do not generally receive faxes, emails, or letters written by God Himself. At the end of our earthly journey, we will find the lion lying down with the lamb. Past heaven's shores we will find the lion and the lamb romping and playing together and with us. Past this life, where pain is no more, we will be full of power and strength. Past this life, where pain is no more, we will live in freedom unknown on earth.

Rev. 1:18 I Am The Living One; I Was Dead, And Behold I Am Alive For Ever And Ever! And I Hold The Keys Of Death And Hades.

We think we see the end of our life. We may even think we see the end of all things. However, in our pain our vision of things to come can and often is, quite blurred. The great divide in our reality is the divide between life and death. In all cultures, in all places, in all times, we rightly grieve over those who have died. We grieve over those who have died because we cannot see across the great divide with 20-20 vision. However, each of us has a spiritual eye. We have a spiritual eye permitting us to see what is unseen on earth. The very core of our faith is a vision of Jesus waiting on the other shore of the great divide. We have eye witness accounts of Jesus walking the earth after He rose from the dead. Although our vision may be blurred as to the reality of what is on the other side, we can be sure Jesus is there, patiently waiting for us to join Him on our day of rejoicing.

Deut. 31:6 Be Strong And Courageous. Do Not Be Afraid Or Terrified Because Of Them, For The Lord Your God Goes With You; He Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You."

We are told by God to be strong. We are told by God to be courageous. God tells us these things because He knows we can weaken. God knows we can lose strength. God knows you need Him every hour. The constant and unrelenting presence of God is required if we are to have a victorious life in our pain. We can find strength in Christ our Savior. We can find courage by surrendering our total being up to Christ. We find strength and courage when we abandon all of our heart and soul to do only God's will. We are no longer terrified of those forces seeking to destroy us when we have taken on the cloak of invincibility in Christ Jesus. When we are selfish in our pain, we make ourselves weak. When we make ourselves weak due to our selfishness, we lose courage, hope, and a vision of our time in the future when we are with Christ.

John 14:18 I Will Not Leave You As Orphans; I Will Come To You.

We must face reality. Our grim reality is that we are orphans in our pain. So many times we have no one to help us. We are left helpless because the pain is assaulting us. We need relief from the pain but there is no relief. We look for Jesus but because of our pain and lack of faith, we cannot find Him. These are the realities. However, there is another reality beyond our knowing. There is another reality where Jesus lives, works, and has His being. When we see the reality of Jesus, we see He is with us every hour. When we need Him then He will be with us before we ever ask. When we hurt and feel all alone, Jesus comes to us to give us comfort and healing in our heart, mind, soul, and body.

Psalm 27:10 Though My Father And Mother Forsake Me, The Lord Will Receive Me.

Many people forsake us. People we trust can violate our trust. People we thought we knew, turn out to be someone else who we do not really know. Then there is our friend Jesus. God, our Father, Jesus, our Lord, and the Holy Spirit who is with us night and day will never leave us or forsake us. We can feel like we are the only person on earth, but we are not. We can feel like no one understands us, but we would be wrong. Of all the life-changing truths given to us in the bible, the idea about God being with us is the most profound and the most life-changing. Not only are we not alone, we have someone who is with us who loves us without conditions.

Genesis 28:15 I Am With You And Will Watch Over You Wherever You Go, And I Will Bring You Back To This Land. I Will Not Leave You Until I Have Done What I Have Promised You."

When we think we are lost, we have a guide who will take us to be where He is. When we are sad, we have a comforter to be with us. When we do not know where we are going, we have a Savior who points us to His path leading to His home in eternal life. When we have lost all hope, we have Christ who is the source of all hope…Christ who lives within us every moment of our life. When we are in pain, we have a great healer to assuage our every hurt. We have a promised land flowing with milk and honey…a place called heaven where nothing shall ever rust or fade. We have a promised land full of the light and life of God almighty. We have a place where we shall find healing for all time.

Hebrews 13:6 So We Say With Confidence, "The Lord Is My Helper; I Will Not Be Afraid. What Can Man Do To Me?"

We are to take on an attitude of invincibility. Of course we are vulnerable. We are all subject to death. We are subject to persecution…even the persecution of Satan from his inflicting pain upon us. Even in our worst hour, we must never forget we are not alone. No matter how much we hurt, we never hurt by ourselves. We are never alone in our pain because Christ is with us each moment. When we fear, we must tell ourselves, we need not fear for God is our defender. When we look at the spiritual realities of our life, we can see over the span of our eternity, the eternal protective power of God. We may suffer now, but later on, there shall be no suffering for eternity.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep Your Lives Free From The Love Of Money And Be Content With What You Have, Because God Has Said, "Never Will I Leave You; Never Will I Forsake You."

Our pain makes us reach out for things to find relief. Many things may appear to appease our need for relief. Material things are tangible. We can touch material things and feel the material thing in our hand. Because material things are tangible, and our need for relief is so demanding, we might believe material things bring us the relief we need. However, many times, material things can bring us grief instead of relief. Money can buy medication, counseling, expert advice, medical supplies, and many forms of help. However, what about the hurt in our heart, mind, and soul? We can numb our body, and even numb our mind with drugs. But what happens to us when we wake up from our drug-induced slumber? We must do all we can to count our blessings even in our poverty. We must make and maintain contact with Christ who is with us at all times, in all places, in all conditions. We are never alone. We are never forsaken.

Luke 18:8 I Tell You, He Will See That They Get Justice, And Quickly. However, When The Son Of Man Comes, Will He Find Faith On The Earth?"

We want a makeup. We want God to make up for all the pain we suffer. The greatest injustice is suffering put upon those who do not deserve the suffering. There are those people who suffer who will never see any justice in this life. Many times, the unfaithful and even the faithful look upon suffering and abandon the faith because justice has not come and will not come in this life. At the end, Jesus will not find faith or faithfulness on the earth. Jesus will not find faithfulness because so many people demand a payoff or compensation for their suffering. We must learn to live in spite of our suffering. We must understand Satan is the author of pain and death. We must learn we can spit in the eye of Satan in the injustice of pain by praying, loving, forgiving, and putting Christ first in faith…then Jesus will find faith on earth.

Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah, Sovereign Lord, You Have Made The Heavens And The Earth By Your Great Power And Outstretched Arm. Nothing Is Too Hard For You."

What is not possible for God? What can God not do? If God has the power to create all things, what is hard for God to do? We put limitations on God. We put so many limitations on God, it seems like we do not have real faith in Him. Wait a minute! We, in fact, do not have nearly enough faith in God. Our reality is so besieged with evil, events driven by evil, temptations authored by evil, and death and destruction caused by evil, we think God has limits. The obvious question would be why doesn't God stop the evil causing so many problems? The answer, in part, is that God needs to let us fulfill our destiny He set in motion before we were created.

Psalm 27:9 Do Not Hide Your Face From Me, Do Not Turn Your Servant Away In Anger; You Have Been My Helper. Do Not Reject Me Or Forsake Me, O God My Savior.

We often feel like the Psalmist. We so often feel God has hidden Himself from us. We often feel God may be real but God does not want anything to do with us. Our trials, hurts, pains, and many tribulations can make us feel forsaken. Even when we make our mistakes causing us to hurt, if we do not own up to our mistakes, we can end up thinking God does not love us and He has forsaken us. The fact is God DOES love us. God will never forsake us, even when we forsake Him. God made it possible for Christ to come into the world as our Savior and Lord. Christ came into the world and because of Him we know He is not hiding from us. God was, is, and will forever be our helper and our guide. He will not reject us. He will not forsake us.

Isaiah 51:9 Awake, Awake! Clothe Yourself With Strength, O Arm Of The Lord; Awake, As In Days Gone By, As In Generations Of Old.

In our pain, we can sometimes think God is sleeping. God is not sleeping. God is always awake, always watching over us, always directing His angels to help us within His will for our life. As much as we can proclaim we know the will of God, we do not completely know His total will for us. So, not knowing, we stumble and fall, we turn in directions we should not, and we end up questioning God's purposes for us. However, no matter how many mistakes we make, or how much pain we must endure, we can all stand in the certainty we are loved by God. We can all be absolutely certain God has loved us in days gone by, in the present hour, and in His fantastic eternity yet to unfold. Although we may be weak in the moment, we are empowered for all the tomorrows yet to be because He loves us so.

2 Cor. 1:10 He Has Delivered Us From Such A Deadly Peril, And He Will Deliver Us. On Him We Have Set Our Hope That He Will Continue To Deliver Us,

We face many afflictions. We face pain in the here and now. There will come a time when we face the last peril, death itself. However, we must not be deterred or ever think we will be defeated. We must know full well we have the victory in Christ forever. Christ is our deliverer. From the very jaws of death we shall be pulled up, and up, and up to heaven. In the face of death, Christ will bring us life eternal. Christ has been with us in the past. He will continue to be with us in the future. We may feel we are orphans left alone in the world. However, we are not alone, for Christ is with us to guide us and take us to be where He lives.

Psalm 22:19 But You, O Lord, Be Not Far Off; O My Strength, Come Quickly To Help Me.

We walk with God each moment. We often think He is far away. We often think He is far away not because of Him, but because of us. We go our own way, especially when we are besieged and overcome with our pain. Pain makes us forget God is with us. Pain makes us weak. However, we have no excuse. We are without excuse and we must never excuse our behavior because of our pain. In our weakness, without making excuses, we need help to move through each day. Christ is our strength. Christ is our helper. When we call upon Him in our hour of need, He will come quickly to help us. He will come quickly to help us because He is already living within us, night and day, day and night, all the days of our life.

Psalm 138:3 When I Called, You Answered Me; You Made Me Bold And Stouthearted.

We don't feel so bold in our pain. We don't feel so stouthearted when our pain eats away at the very core of who we are. Those very times when we are not bold or stouthearted are the very times we must call upon the Lord. When we call upon the Lord then He will answer us in our need. The Lord will give us strength every hour if we are willing to accept His power in our life. We can meet our adversities head on, without hesitation. We are able to ascend from the depths of our despair because our precious Lord Jesus always reaches down to pull us up. We shall always be able to find our courage when are afraid because Christ is with us, supplying all we need as we seek to do His will.

Romans 4:5 However, To The Man Who Does Not Work But Trusts God Who Justifies The Wicked, His Faith Is Credited As Righteousness.

This verse can be misused and misconstrued. This verse IS misused and misconstrued. The verse would appear to say we do not have to work and all we need is faith. However, the truth of the whole gospel record clearly demonstrates sloth to be a "deadly" sin. In our pain, we are tempted to not exert full effort. In our pain, we are tempted to let our faith slide and let our faith slide backwards. Even in our pain, we must exert maximum effort without any concern whatsoever about what we get back from God in exchange for our faithfulness. Our faith is credited as righteousness, but in our faith we would never slack off. In our faith, even in pain, we must be relentless and push ahead at all times.

Isaiah 45:21 And There Is No God Apart From Me, A Righteous God And A Savior; There Is None But Me.

Our judgment is often cloudy. We make mistakes nearly every day. In pain, our memory and judgment are challenged. We are, especially those of us who hurt, left as orphans in a cold and brutal world. However, we are not alone. We have a resource to see us through every trouble. We have a resource who gives us infinite eternal life in beauty and love mere words cannot express. In a world gone wrong, making our pain even worse, we have a perfect person making all things right. His name is Jesus.

2 Cor. 5:19 That God Was Reconciling The World To Himself In Christ, Not Counting Men's Sins Against Them. And He Has Committed To Us The Message Of Reconciliation.

Our pain makes us live apart from others and apart from Christ. Pain makes us like orphans without a parent or guardian to take care of us. In pain, we are looking for someone to help us. Our pain makes us say and do what we might know are wrong. Before God, we are apart from Him whether we are in pain or not. Christ came into the world to bring us to a place where we are no longer lost in our pain and no longer lost in our life. Christ came to bridge the divide between us and God…the great divide caused by our sin. When we were apart from God, Christ came to reconcile us with God. Christ came to cleanse our impurity of sin so we are clean and righteous. When we are together with Christ, even in our pain, we have Christ who is the great Comforter who brings us comfort and peace even in our pain.

Isaiah 53:5 But He Was Pierced For Our Transgressions, He Was Crushed For Our Iniquities; The Punishment That Brought Us Peace Was Upon Him, And By His Wounds We Are Healed.

In our pain, what difference does it make if Christ was tortured and crucified? Here is the answer: Christ permitted Himself to be crucified and He rose again on the third day to give us hope our pain will end. Of course, we have to do something here on earth in our life at the present time to assure ourselves we will see heaven. On earth, in the here and now, we must repent of our sins and accept Christ as our savior. Because Christ lived and died for us, we can look forward with hope and anticipation toward a life of eternal bliss with no more pain. Imagine no more pain, no more discomfort, and no more uneasiness!!! Wow!!! All of eternity and the infinite wonders therein are available to us because of Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:33 Who Will Bring Any Charge Against Those Whom God Has Chosen? It Is God Who Justifies.

The world can bring charges against those whom God has chosen. Satan and satanic evil in the world can and do persecute those whom God has chosen. However, in the heavens and in our heavenly home, there are no charges and no persecutions against those of us who have called Jesus our Lord. In our pain we must remember we have a Great Defender who will, in the span of eternity, tower over us, protect us, and immerse us in His love and grace. God brings all evil to an end. God rewards us for our perseverance in our trials and in our defeats. We are appalled by the injustices of this life. We are appalled by the inhumanity of human beings against one another. The injustices of this life are smoothed out and made as if the injustices never were by God Almighty.

Isaiah 42:21 It Pleased The Lord For The Sake Of His Righteousness To Make His Law Great And Glorious.

In pain, in a world of chaos, we are hard pressed to find anything great and glorious in the world. In pain, what would be great and glorious is to find a form of final, total relief from our pain. Although we may find limited relief for our pain while we are alive in the here and now, we will indeed find our final, total relief when we see Christ in heaven. The law of God has within the law the greatness and grandeur of God. The law of God gives us the keys to eternal bliss in Heaven. The law of God details for us how we are to maneuver over and around the satanic obstacles and mine fields ahead of us. Most of all, the law of God is designed and presented to us to help us live a righteous life.

Psalm 85:10 Love And Faithfulness Meet Together; Righteousness And Peace Kiss Each Other.

In pain, we find it difficult to feel love. Our need for relief becomes greater than our need for love. The author of pain wants us to be without love. In this instance, we must use our will power to subdue what the pain wants from us. When we can push the pain aside for a few moments, the love we feel for God and from God, will increase our faithfulness. When our faithfulness is increased, we can lead a more righteous life and peace comes to us. When we are at peace, God can do great work within us. In peace, we can further subdue our pain. In peace, we can gain control over our life when the author of pain wants us to give up control.