JAMES 5:10 "BROTHERS, AS AN EXAMPLE OF PATIENCE IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING, TAKE THE PROPHETS WHO SPOKE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD."

Patience is something in short supply when we suffer. We do not like suffering. We do not want it. We ask how long, O Lord, how long? The Old Testament prophets knew about suffering. They knew what it was like to have a god who was silent most of the time, to have a god who chose not to relieve suffering. The prophets agonized as we do. However, they were patient, as we must be patient. For their patience they were rewarded. Christ's came to be an example to us when we are in suffering. Christ freely chose to suffer for us until His mission on the cross was completed. Christ had the freedom to reject the cross and reject the suffering. He chose to go ahead and live through the pain so we would have a chance to live forever in glory with Him. You must also choose to live through the pain. Christ did not give up. Christ knows what physical pain is all about. He knows what depression is all about. He knows what it means to feel forsaken and alone. Christ knows what it means to be beaten and abused. He knows what it feels like to be rejected and scorned. Christ chose to go through all these things so we can persevere when we are in pain.

Heb 2:14 Since The Children Have Flesh And Blood, He Too Shared In Their Humanity So That By His Death He Might Destroy Him Who Holds The Power Of Death--That Is, The Devil--

Suffering is the price we pay for being free…free to rebel against God and his love for us.

When we are hurting and in pain, then forgiveness holds a special meaning.

Jesus is for giving to us.

Jesus is for giving us an eternal home where there is no pain, suffering, or sorrow.

Jesus is for giving us strength and courage to face tomorrow here on earth,

Jesus is for a winning person, so we do not want to live in defeat.

Jesus is for a person, who, despite the pain, sorrow, and adversities of life, can come back to fight against the darkness afflicting us.

Jesus is for giving us knowledge about how much he loves us.

Jesus is for giving us an understanding of why we have to wait to be free of the pain.

Jesus is for a world where things are better for us.

Jesus is for us always having someone next to us…Him…who really knows what we go through.

1 PET 4:13 "BUT REJOICE THAT YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, SO THAT YOU MAY BE OVERJOYED WHEN HIS GLORY IS REVEALED."

Christ suffered just by being born. He was in heaven but came down to earth to save us. In heaven, Christ had no pain, He had no suffering. In heaven, Christ had all power and wonder at His command. Some of our sufferings are like His earthly sufferings, so we know what He went through when He was on the earth. When we suffer we are brought closer to what Christ went through. When we suffer, we can understand Him, and He can understand us. 1 Pet 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. Satan is limited. The enemy can only do so much to us. We can come back against the enemy and what Satan does to us. Suffering does and will exist as long as we are on the earth as mere mortals. However, suffering is not forever. Suffering is not God's will. Suffering is the will of Satan. God's will is to restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. 1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Lay down your burdens, pain, and suffering. Lay down your suffering before Christ on the cross. When laid down, your sufferings will be lifted up, up, up to our Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:4 Blessed Are Those Who Mourn, For They Will Be Comforted.

Question: "I fear I have lost my soul. I have lost the part of me I have used to contact God. I used to know He was listening. However, now I seem to be unable to get beyond my pain. My pain, it seems, has won and defeated the part of me I use to make contact with Him. I weep inwardly. I weep on the outside. A big part of me has given up. I know my life is not over but sometimes, perhaps too often, I want to see heaven, see Jesus, and all those who went before me. My pain is wearing me down and wearing me out. What do I do? What can you tell me about what to do next?"

Answer: Answers are not always easily found when people are in pain. Perhaps this answer will guide you and support you in your daily walk.

Things to remember...

We cannot take giant leaps like superman. However, we can take baby steps to get where we are going.

Find God's purpose for your life. Even if you cannot fully live out God's purpose, do all you can to express or pursue His purpose in your life.

Your idea of victory may need to change. Victory may seem to be no more pain, no more depression, and no more meaninglessness. However, you can only live or win out one minute at a time. When you conquer just a minute, you can conquer the hour, then you can conquer the day.

Most of all seek Christ at all times. Seek to find Him in little healing moments. Look for Him at night, at noontime, or in the morning. Look for Him in places you think He would never be. Most of all, look for Him within your heart for His kingdom resides within you. Christ hears your heartache. He hears and knows your pain. In your future, Christ will come and take you to be with Him where pain and sorrow are no more.

Matthew 6:10 Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done In Earth, As It Is In Heaven.

"Thy will be done in earth…" the words are so easy to say but so hard to do. Being human, we want to fix what hurts. When we hurt, naturally we want to do something to make the pain go away. When we hurt, we want to do things ourselves to find comfort. So where is the will of God when the pain comes? Too often we unknowingly push away the will of God in favor of trying to make the pain go away by our own means and methods. When we hurt, we can let the will of God filter down into us. When we hurt we must try to both say "Thy will be done" and we must LET God's will be done. When we hurt we are not to give up on life, we are not to give up on ourselves, we are not to give up on our medical professionals, or we are not to give up on God. When we hurt we are to let God's will be done in our pain. When we let God's will be done in our life, we will find incredible peace, then His comfort. Our pain is not God's will. Our pain can be soothed by God's will filtering down into the deepest part of our soul. Do so, let's God's will be our comforting guiding hand in every adversity. The will of God will never lead us to more pain and trouble. The will of God leads us to peace on earth and later peace in heaven.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 Therefore, Brothers, In All Our Distress And Persecution We Were Encouraged About You Because Of Your Faith.

Our victory over pain is elusive and often unknowable. No one may know about our victory but our Lord and us. There are no parades, no celebrations, and no commendations for heroism in our pain. We very seldom ever get a glimpse of when we win out over the pain. Most of the time, we have no sense of victory because even when the pain leaves us, we have no remaining sense of power to make the pain go away again. However, even when we are absolutely certain we have been and are now living in defeat because our pain has not gone away, we must remain.

We must hold on because holding on and keeping what little faith we have is the victory.

When Satan, who is the author of death and pain, tries to attack us with pain, our not giving up and not giving in is the victory.

Our faith in Christ is the reason we desire to stay alive while even in our pain our desire to stay alive is the victory.

Our desire to live one more moment to thank Him for blessings, blessings held only in the hands of those who may never know us, is the victory.

Our desire to pray one more moment when we are too distracted to pray because of our pain is the victory.

Our resolve to never give up or give in, even when our resolve is now only a whisper in the deafening pain within us…our resolve is the victory.

Even in our pain, our silent words spoken within our heart at the moment just before we leave this life, our silent words saying, "Precious Lord, I love you" is the victory.

Isaiah 63:9 In All Their Distress He Too Was Distressed, And The Angel Of His Presence Saved Them. In His Love And Mercy He Redeemed Them; He Lifted Them Up And Carried Them All The Days Of Old.

When your pain makes you angry…

When your pain makes you depressed…

When your pain makes you weep…

When your pain makes you want to get even…

When your pain drives you crazy…

When your pain pushes you in directions you do not want to go…

These are the times when your pain owns you.

These are the times when your pain becomes your master…when you become a slave of your pain.

When you find you are no longer able to be your own person but instead are the person controlled by the pain, stop everything for just a moment. In that moment when you have stopped everything, you are no longer a slave. In that moment, reassert your power to think on your own. In that moment of your freedom, praise God. In that moment of your freedom, let God wrap His love around you.