Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

We must remain in a constant state of forgiveness because others inflict wounds upon us and our heart remains torn. When we repent, we expose our wounded heart to Christ. In His great compassion, once we show Him how much our heart is hurting, He begins healing us with His love. When Christ calls us to turn away, He is calling us to turn away, not just from our sins, but also turn away from the effects of the sins of others. No matter what happens to us, no matter how much pain is put upon us by life or by others, we must still turn away from the darkness. Turning away for some people is a once in a lifetime event. However, for most of us, especially those of us who live in pain, turning away is a daily requirement. Some wounds and scars upon the heart are so deep a lifetime of daily turning away may be required. Repentance for some persons may take the form of a daily battle against the powers, forces, and evil spirits inhabiting the world. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Some have sinned because of the hurt, degradation, and violation of the heart, mind, and body by the pain put upon them by others. When we repent, we must turn away from our sin. We must also turn away from the pain caused by the sin done to us.

Acts 8:21 You Have No Part Or Share In This Ministry, Because Your Heart Is Not Right Before God. 22 Repent Of This Wickedness And Pray To The Lord. Perhaps He Will Forgive You For Having Such A Thought In Your Heart. 23 For I See That You Are Full Of Bitterness And Captive To Sin.

Your present pain and suffering will come to an end. Christ died on the cross so your present pain will be erased forever. All of us who hurt, who perhaps have hurt for many years, face the daunting task dealing with bitterness and anger brought on by our pain. Placing your life in Christ’s hands enables Him to heal your heart and make your bitterness and anger go away. Bitterness and anger over pain in the present or past can freeze your heart as the bitterness and anger lock you into a place of darkness. When we come to realize we are in the grip of bitterness and anger brought on by our pain, Christ enables us to turn away. Christ enables us to turn away from being imprisoned by our pain, our bitterness, and our anger. Repentance is not only a process to confront our own wrongdoing; repentance is also a process to confront the wrongdoing others and life circumstances have done to us.

John 8:44 Ye Are Of Your Father The Devil, And The Lusts Of Your Father Ye Will Do. He Was A Murderer From The Beginning, And Abode Not In The Truth, Because There Is No Truth In Him. When He Speaketh A Lie, He Speaketh Of His Own: For He Is A Liar, And The Father Of It.

Satan is the author of death.

Satan's purpose in injuring you is to take you away from God and God's healing love. Satan’s last act in every human life is to destroy each of us by causing our death. Instead of our suffering death forever, Christ went in our place. Christ suffered death in our place so we could have eternal life. In our trials and pain, God does not forsake us, even when it seems He has turned His back on us and left us alone. Our God is a compassionate God. When you are hurting, God hurts with you. When you are suffering, God suffers with you. You never suffer alone, even when you may feel alone. When you are injured, give the hurt to Christ. Surrender every pain and every torment into the scars of His hands. Over the course of eternity, Christ will save you from torment by giving you a perfect life free of pain…a perfect life in heaven.

Job 6:10 Then I Would Still Have This Consolation-- My Joy In Unrelenting Pain-- That I Had Not Denied The Words Of The Holy One.

We all want a pain free life. Pain puts a terrible pollutant into our life. We want the ultimate freedom from pain, suffering, and loss. We all realize how life cannot be pain free, even when we despise what the pain does to us. Suffering injury and hurt happens to nearly everyone. There are many kinds of injuries. We have spiritual, emotional, and physical pain from many sources. When we suffer hurt from any source for any reason, we must remember Satan is always the cause of our hurt, pain, injury, and loss. We could have a perfect world if Satan would be bound up and kept from pouring his evil pain upon our life. When we are under satanic attack of any kind, we must push our heart, soul, and life into the hands of Christ. Jesus wants us to give Him our life, no matter what condition our life might be in at the moment. We may have to use force and power to give Christ our life, especially when Satan has bound us up in his evil tentacles.

Psalm 38:20 Those Who Repay My Good With Evil Slander Me When I Pursue What Is Good. 21 O LORD, Do Not Forsake Me; Be Not Far From Me, O My God. 22 Come Quickly To Help Me, O Lord My Savior.

When you are in real pain, you cannot do what you normally do. When your pain gets intense, you may be totally distracted, you may be unable to pray, and you may be unable to focus. When you are in intense pain, it may seem Christ does not exist. Even when Christ seems not to exist, remember He is where you are, no matter how far away He seems to be at the time.

Pain is a weapon your great adversary uses against you. Pain creates the illusion Christ is far away and not present within you. However, the illusion Christ is far away is only an illusion. The reality of every moment of your life, even the painful moments, is that Christ is within you and beside you. Even in your moments of intense pain, you can walk with Him and talk with Him. Only Christ can truly understand what you are going through. In your pain, even when you erroneously think He has deserted you, you must remain with Him.

Psalm 38:17 For I Am About To Fall, And My Pain Is Ever With Me. 18 I Confess My Iniquity; I Am Troubled By My Sin. 19 Many Are Those Who Are My Vigorous Enemies; Those Who Hate Me Without Reason Are Numerous.

When you are in real pain you can often be immobilized in body, mind, and spirit. In real pain, what was normal for you before becomes incredibly difficult, perhaps even impossible. In real pain you can be totally distracted and unable to concentrate on even routine matters. Pain can destroy your ability to focus on routine matters. Your ability to pray can be hampered or worse. In real pain, what was normal yesterday will not be normal. Your normal abilities can be severely challenged when you are in pain. In pain, Christ can seem to be so far away He may seem not to exist. When you are in pain, you must learn to live one moment at a time. Learn to pray, one moment at a time. Learn to live each moment as a moment lived for Christ and Him alone. In all the moments you live for Christ, there will come one special moment when you see Him face to face. You will see Him smiling and He will tell you about your wonderful life to come in His mansion built just for you.

Hebrews 10:38 But My Righteous One Will Live By Faith. And If He Shrinks Back, I Will Not Be Pleased With Him." 39 But We Are Not Of Those Who Shrink Back And Are Destroyed, But Of Those Who Believe And Are Saved.

When we are in pain, living by faith is as much of a challenge as living with the pain. Living by faith mandates we never quit, never relent, and never turn back. Our faith in Christ demonstrates over the history of our faith how millions of Christians have refused to quit. The blood of our Christian martyrs cries out to us to never quit our faith regardless of our pain. We must keep going at all costs, against all odds. In every trial we must call upon Christ who died to set us free. In every moment of our anguish we must look to Christ who suffered His own anguish…anguish infinitely greater than our own pain. We must always refuse to quit. We must always refuse to give up. We shall have victory in Christ only if we persevere and never quit. In every circumstance God is present with us, within us, over us, and under us.

Hebrews 10:36 You Need To Persevere So That When You Have Done The Will Of God, You Will Receive What He Has Promised. 37 For In Just A Very Little While, "He Who Is Coming Will Come And Will Not Delay.

When life beats us up, we hurt. When we have pain of any kind we are pushed off our bearings and can feel totally lost. Pain disorients us and we have trouble stabilizing ourselves. Pain, whether the pain comes upon us suddenly or gradually, can make us emotionally numb while we lose contact with our normal world. When we are hurt we must hurry to maintain our balance in the face of painful consequences. We are to try to adjust as quickly as possible because the longer we put up with the pain, the more the pain can eat away at our heart and soul. As pain eats away at us, we can then begin to feel self pity which weakens us all the more. When we find ourselves in the grip of pain, we must call upon Christ to bring His power over us. Christ will heal us of every hurt. Christ will make every bruise go away. Christ will take us to a time when all pain shall be gone.

Hebrews 11:6 And Without Faith It Is Impossible To Please God, Because Anyone Who Comes To Him Must Believe That He Exists And That He Rewards Those Who Earnestly Seek.

Christ will give us our rewards. He will give us gifts beyond our ability to comprehend using our earthly mind and soul. We will inherit a new world where our current burdens will be no more. When we pray, we can pour out our pain to Christ who knows all about our pain and suffering…knowing He is always listening to us. Christ Jesus, our blessed Savior, comes to us in our darkest hour. In our darkest hour Christ gives us the hope of ages past by showing us we will live in heaven when a new order of things is now in place for us. Pain can degrade us and destroy us. Pain has a way of making everything seem meaningless. When we pray to Jesus and ask Him for hope, then He comes to us and gives us the assurance our pain is only temporary. When we pray Jesus comes to us and shows us the long night of our suffering will soon fade away because the dawn of our new life in heaven is almost here.

Revelation 21:4 He Will Wipe Every Tear From Their Eyes. There Will Be No More Death Or Mourning Or Crying Or Pain, For The Old Order Of Things Has Passed Away.

We serve and worship Christ who loves us. In our pain, Christ stands next to us giving us His love and grace in our darkest of hours. God the Father, Christ the Son, and the indwelling Holy Spirit pour their love over us and make their love for us fill our heart. God loves us in ways we cannot imagine. No matter how much we may suffer, God’s love for us, God’s love within us, cannot be diminished. In our pain, Christ listens with utmost intensity to our every prayer and our every heart-cry. Christ does not want us or anyone on the earth to suffer. Because Christ does not want us to suffer, He died for us to give us a chance to accept Him thus giving us eternal life in heaven. When we feel pain or sorrow, Christ also feels pain and sorrow with us. When we pray we must try to remember how Christ is within us and does not want us to feel pain or sorrow. Our God has a wonderful world waiting for us. God has built a wonderful mansion, life, and reality for us in heaven. In every painful moment here on earth, we must grasp onto the certainty of heaven waiting for us.

Col. 4:5 Be Wise In The Way You Act Toward Outsiders; Make The Most Of Every Opportunity. 6 Let Your Conversation Be Always Full Of Grace, Seasoned With Salt, So That You May Know How To Answer Everyone.

When we hurt, we have the tendency or perhaps the desire to complain. We complain because we feel helpless. We complain because we want others to share our burden, making our burden less. However, when we are in pain, we must be a light in the darkness of others. When we speak with others, we must be intent on uplifting them rather then pulling them down with our whining or complaining. We have the opportunity whether we are in pain or not, to uplift others out of their plight. We can give people hope at a time when we need hope the most. Our reward for putting others first in this way is looking forward to a time when we hear the Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Luke 12:37 It Will Be Good For Those Servants Whose Master Finds Them Watching When He Comes. I Tell You The Truth, He Will Dress Himself To Serve, Will Have Them Recline At The Table And Will Come And Wait On Them.

Some of us may be in so much pain we are not fully capable of working as the Lord’s servants in the way we might like to work. However, we must seek out every opportunity to work for Him. No matter how much pain we might be suffering at the moment, each of us can pray for others. Our power of prayer can do more for others than many of the worldly tasks we might perform on their behalf. Let each of us be a worker for our Lord by being a prayer warrior for others. When we can do little else, we can pray. Prayers to the Lord can bring down mountains of blessings into the life of those of those for whom we pray.

2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, My Brothers, Be All The More Eager To Make Your Calling And Election Sure. For If You Do These Things, You Will Never Fall,

We are fallible. We fall down. We make mistakes. We make mistakes knowing we are making mistakes. We are hopeless and without hope if we do not have Christ as our Savior and Lord. Some of us are in so much pain we cannot be truly “eager” and we are not always as keen about making our election sure. Because of our pain, we fail and we may fail often. What must God be thinking when we sees us fall down because of our pain or because of our pain and our sin working against us? God is a being of compassion. When God sees us make mistakes for any reason, He understands more about us than we understand about ourselves. When God sees us make mistakes He is grieved and wants us to be grieved. As difficult as being righteous is for those of us in pain, pain must never be an excuse to be unrighteous. We must have a hurting heart because we make mistakes. When we have a hurting heart because we make mistakes, Christ will forgive us and pour His healing love over us.

Joshua 22:5 But Be Very Careful To Keep The Commandment And The Law That Moses The Servant Of The Lord Gave You: To Love The Lord Your God, To Walk In All His Ways, To Obey His Commands, To Hold Fast To Him And To Serve Him With All Your Heart And All Your Soul."

Just because we are in pain does not mean we are permitted by God to slack off. We are not permitted to slack off from keeping the commandments. We are not permitted to slack off from loving God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might. We are not permitted to walk in any way other than the Lord’s way. We are not permitted to slack off from obeying God’s commands. We are not permitted to slack off from holding fast to Him and serving Him every moment. Being a person of Christ is never easy. Being a person of Christ when we are in pain is more difficult still. However, we have no excuse but to do what Christ wants us to do and be the person He wants us to be. If we will think long and hard, if we will observe, we will see how living as Christ wants us to live serves us better in pain than any other way of living. We must also remember Christ holds us closest when we struggle the most.

1 Thes. 5:22 Avoid Every Kind Of Evil.

We are made vulnerable by our pain. In pain, because we are vulnerable, evil can come into our life and diminish us or destroy us. Whether we are in pain or not, we must avoid every kind of evil. Evil has tentacles reaching out to choke us out of our life. Evil makes our pain worse and our pain makes us so vulnerable we do not fend off the pain or the evil. Our pain can blind us to such an extent we no longer see the evil in order to avoid the evil. Evil can whisper in our ear. If we are in enough pain, we listen to the whispers of evil and then fall into the pit of temptation. To avoid every kind of evil, we must continually be kneeling at the foot of Christ’s cross.

Ephes. 5:15 Be Very Careful, Then, How You Live--Not As Unwise But As Wise, 16 Making The Most Of Every Opportunity, Because The Days Are Evil.

We have wisdom, but do we use the wisdom we have? Too many times, too many people live in self-imposed blindness. We can see the consequences of our actions but we too often choose not to see. If we would use our wisdom as God would want, we would always look at every circumstance as an opportunity to live for God, rather than living for ourselves. Living in pain can make us careless. Our pain blinds us to seeing the eventualities of our decisions. Our pain can make us care less about the consequences of our life because our pain destroys our ability to use our wisdom. Under enough pain, we can get to a point of not caring about others, ourselves, or our actions. At this point of not caring, we must use our wisdom to see what our pain is doing to us and take corrective action. Our corrective action in our pain is to be careful how we live. We must be careful about the decisions we make. We must be careful to put Christ in every moment.

Isaiah 40:29 He Gives Strength To The Weary And Increases The Power Of The Weak.

What do we do when we cannot do? What do we do when we have used up every amount of energy and resources? These two questions may be some of the most important questions of life. The answer is easy but the implementation is difficult. The answer is “to have faith.” The answer “to have faith” is too often hollow for a person at the end of their road with nowhere to go. When a person has no power, the answer “to have faith” can seem like grinding salt into the wound. However, “having faith” means we have hope or faith in God. When we have faith in God, then He will never disappoint us. We must come to accept our reality is more than what we see, feel, and touch. God and His power are a part of our reality. God made our reality. Our having faith turns the darkness in our reality into the light, a light from the very Light of the world.

Philip. 4:13 I Can Do Everything Through Him Who Gives Me Strength.

We can do everything God wills for us to do. God does not tell us to do anything we want to do. In all the things God wants us to do we can do everything He wants us to do because He gives us power and strength. What God wants us to do when we are in pain may be incredibly difficult. However, if God wills us, God empowers us. God gives us strength when we align our will in the same direction as His will. We may be lame and unable to walk in this life. However, if the Lord wills us to be patient and show others love, then God will give us the power to show others love. God does not will us to do sinful acts. God does not will us to go in directions leading us into temptation. In the weakness of our pain, we must keep our heart and mind solely on what God wants for us and from us. By focusing our strength on what God wants for us and from us, we will receive His utmost reward when we see Him face to face.

Psalm 68:35 You Are Awesome, O God, In Your Sanctuary; The God Of Israel Gives Power And Strength To His People. Praise Be To God!

In pain, we do not have enough power and enough strength. Our pain weakens us and degrades us. In pain, we are to cling to God. From God we can receive strength and power to not just survive but to prosper. We may not prosper as the world understands prosperity. However, we will prosper in our understanding of God. We will prosper in understanding how He works in all matters. God gives His strength and power to the afflicted because He loves them. God understands we want an end to our afflictions. Over time, and over the span of our life, God will bless us, even in our darkest of hours. God’s strength and power will help us find humility as our ego is diminished in our pain. When we fully put our life in the hands of God, He makes us better instead of bitter.

Mark 13:11 Whenever You Are Arrested And Brought To Trial, Do Not Worry Beforehand About What To Say. Just Say Whatever Is Given You At The Time, For It Is Not You Speaking, But The Holy Spirit.

We are seldom arrested by the police because of our pain. What we do experience is a time when our pain makes us silent. Not knowing what to say in our pain can lead us to say nothing at all. In those times when we are put into silence, we must let God speak to us. In our silence from our pain, we must let the Lord give us His words of healing, love, kindness, and compassion. In those times when we are doubled over and silent, God can become more real for us than at any other time. We may know God loves us, but do we know He loves us when we are in the deep darkness of our pain? God does give us messages via the Holy Spirit. In our hurt and heartbreak, God comes to us in the Spirit to tell us how much He loves us. Our healing may not become complete in the here and now. Our healing will definitely become complete in the hereafter.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore Do Not Worry About Tomorrow, For Tomorrow Will Worry About Itself. Each Day Has Enough Trouble Of Its Own.

The pain we feel can cause us anxiety and fear. When we are in pain we can end up being supreme worriers. To deal with each day and each day's worries, we are to live one day at a time. We cannot change the past. We cannot change what will happen tomorrow. We may be unable to change parts of our life today. What we can do is live minute to minute, then hour to hour, then day to day. Our best strategy is not to try and live ahead of where we are. We need to learn to absorb the beauty of the moment, even when we are in pain. Satan tries to destroy us using pain as a weapon. Being under so much attack, we can tend to get overly cautious and try to live for tomorrow in order to lessen the pain we fear today.

Romans 5:2 And We Rejoice In The Hope Of The Glory Of God.

We may not want to rejoice or feel like rejoicing when we are in pain. Pain takes the joy out of our life. However, our Lord is greater than our pain. Our Lord gives us hope when hope would seem to be impossible. Our Lord stands against pain. Our Lord is so against pain He has made for us a special place called heaven where pain is banished forever. Because we have a loving God, we can rejoice in hope He is always with us and for us. Our God is not is some far off place. Our God through the Holy Spirit is within us, whether we are in pain or not. God continually comes to be with us in our pain and sorrow. Not only is God with us in our pain and sorrow, He will be with us until we are with Him in heaven.

Philip. 4:4 Rejoice In The Lord Always. I Will Say It Again: Rejoice!

When we are in pain, the word "rejoice" can ring hallow. However, we must look beyond the mere human meaning of the above verse. The above verse does not tell us to rejoice about conditions in our life at the moment. The above verse does tell us to rejoice in the Lord. When we think about God, when we think about how God is love, about Christ coming to earth to save us and take us into heaven to be with Him, then we can begin to get an inkling of the meaning of the Apostle Paul's words. In the fullest meaning of the verse, we can rejoice in our suffering because we are valuable enough to Christ we are being attacked by Satan making us hurt. We can count as gain how Satan is trying to make us lose or Satan has caused us to suffer loss. In a magnificent supernatural sense, we can always live in a state of joy because the Lord blesses us and keeps us. We can rejoice because we are loved and forgiven by God. We can rejoice because our future in eternal heaven in assured. No matter how difficult our present life may be or may become, we have another life waiting for us just beyond the clouds. Praise His Name. Amen.

Col. 1:5 The Faith And Love That Spring From The Hope That Is Stored Up For You In Heaven And That You Have Already Heard About In The Word Of Truth, The Gospel

If there is anything we need, then we need faith and love. Even more than a relief from our pain, we need faith and love. We are able to possess faith and love because we have hope. We have a certainty Christ will wipe away every one of our tears. We have hope, faith, and love because the words of Christ are written for us in His scripture. Our hope gives us a picture of our future…a picture so sweet and full of life we have difficulty even trying to grasp the full extent of our future days. Our hope gives us a picture of our life to come when our life is full of love…the purist love that could ever be. Our hope gives us an enduring real life time when we will not have to live in the valley of tears we call this present earth and time. Christ came to earth to give us faith, hope, and love. In Him and through Him, we have a future when faith, hope, and love become our reality.

Psalm 37:25 I Was Young And Now I Am Old, Yet I Have Never Seen The Righteous Forsaken Or Their Children Begging Bread.

There are many advantages to being righteous. When we are in pain and suffering, we are weakened and can be easily tempted away from being righteous. We must maintain our self-control and self-discipline at all costs. Being righteous in the face of pain and suffering is difficult because pain and suffering eats away at our heart and soul. We must let ourselves grow old in wisdom. We must live each minute, minute to minute, in order not to fall away into sinful darkness. We must have daily conversations with Jesus to maintain our balance in a world gone badly astray.

1 Peter 1:8 Though You Have Not Seen Him, You Love Him; And Even Though You Do Not See Him Now, You Believe In Him And Are Filled With An Inexpressible And Glorious Joy,

No matter how much pain we are in, we have resources. We may be helpless but we are not totally helpless. We may be attacked from every side, but we are not without weapons. We are not helpless or defenseless because the living Christ and His power are within us. Because Christ and His power are within us, we are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy. Even in pain, our joy, although diminished, is still very real. No matter how much of an attack the pain may bring, we shall not be defeated because we have the joy of Christ who brings us everlasting life. We are often baffled by the mechanics of how the love and joy of our faith can be of assistance to us. Although we may be baffled, the reality of the love of Christ and His power overcome things of the world like our pain. We may not have scientific explanations for the power of Christ. We may not have clinical medical reasons for how Christ, God, and prayer work in our life. However, even without reasons, two thousand years of testimonies by persons whose life has been changed, and whose pain has been lessened, stand as clear evidence of what we know to be truth.

1 Thes. 3:3 So That No One Would Be Unsettled By These Trials. You Know Quite Well That We Were Destined For Them.

Each of us has the ability to make decisions. Even in pain, we have the ability to chart a course of action in our life. We have the ability to respond with love, caring, and compassion in the face of influences trying to make us respond with hatred, a lack of caring, and a heart absent of compassion. Those of us who have chosen Christ, whether we are in pain or not, must understand we will have trials put upon us by Satan. We must remember Christ has a destiny for us, His chosen destiny. We have a destiny to be with Him in paradise forever. Our fundamental question in life is…will we strive to reach His destiny for us? No matter what trials we face, we are not alone. Just as Christ faced the trials of going to the cross, so also must we face our trials. No matter how difficult our life may become, we must not turn away from Christ. For two thousand years, those of us who have followed Christ have persevered through sometimes unimaginable suffering and persecution. However, we are not ashamed to call Christ our Lord. We are not ashamed to walk His path. We are not ashamed to fulfill His destiny for us…His destiny calling us to be holy, godly, and devout.

Romans 15:13 May The God Of Hope Fill You With All Joy And Peace As You Trust In Him, So That You May Overflow With Hope By The Power Of The Holy Spirit.

Hope is our godly fuel of life. We persevere through our pain because we are filled with hope for a better day and a better eternity just ahead. Our pain does not get us down when we are full of hope. If our pain does get us down, we can refuel with hope. We can refuel with hope because the Holy Spirit is the power giving us the inspiration of hope. When the adversities of life seem to overwhelm us, the power of the Holy Spirit is with us showing us there are better times ahead. The power of hope is a gift from God. Without hope, the human race would have long descended into a dark abyss. Each of us must battle against the dark powers wanting to destroy all human beings. However, with the power of God's love becoming real because we have the Holy Spirit with us, the darkness is replaced by the light and love of God.

Luke 14:27 And Anyone Who Does Not Carry His Cross And Follow Me Cannot Be My Disciple.

Jesus is telling us we must bear up under our pain and adversities. Not only must be bear up under our adversities, we are to follow Him at the same time. We are not to wilt under the load of our life. We are to remain strong, even in pain, and walk His narrow path. To be a true follower of Jesus means we make no excuses…we pray continually for others…and we move forward no matter what the cost might be to us. Certainly, those of us who live in pain have real reasons why we might wish to quit or give up, but we must not quit. If Satan won every time Satan delivered a blow against us, Satan would have already won the world. Your life rests in the hands of God yet Satan tries to get you to turn away from God. No matter what kind of temptation you face, no matter what kind of past mistakes you have made, no matter what kind of pain you carry now or in the future, God loves you beyond measure. Because God loves you beyond measure, He needs you to never walk any other path than His path.