03.08. CHAPTER 08 - GOD HAS A PLAN EVEN IN YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN
CHAPTER 08 - GOD HAS A PLAN EVEN IN YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN
Many women are afflicted with chronic illnesses and have to live with constant pain and sleepless nights. And their minds are filled with foreboding thoughts about the future – especially the fear of their children becoming motherless. Such thoughts can be horrifying.
Many long for some respite from their pain. Even the strongest analgesics begin to lose their effect after a while. When someone hears of another having been diagnosed with cancer, they begin to wonder if it will be their turn next!
Jesus suffered pain too - and He can sympathise with us and comfort us. He endured the cross, and he alone can help us endure till the end, when we are in pain. Don’t ever yield to the temptation to take away your life. The key of Death is in Jesus’ hands (Revelation 1:18). Don’t try and snatch it away from Him. Wait for God’s time, no matter how much you have to suffer. God can sanctify your suffering for you meanwhile. “There is a time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2).
Amos 4:12 says, “Prepare to meet your God.”
We don’t have to look at those words as a horrible threat to get ready to die. Instead, we can look at those words as a loving invitation from our Creator to meet with Him. Death is only a change of residence for a true Christian. It is like shifting to a far better house. Heaven is our final home.
I read of a mother dying of cancer, who in the midst of all her pain, recorded a taped message for each of her children - giving them advice for their growing years, including the matter of choosing a marriage partner. She also told them that if their father decided to bring home a new mother one day, they should accept her gladly and make her feel welcome. She turned her pain over to the Lord and did all that she could do for her family, when she knew that her time on earth was short. Do you weep when the doctor gives you bad news about your health? Are you constantly waiting for the next shot of morphia to relieve your pain? Cry out to Jesus. He bore intense pain too and He can make things bearable for you. He will never allow you to be tested beyond your ability, but will give you grace and strength to bear every trial. Our earthly pain makes us look forward to that better place where there will no more pain or sorrow.
I think of a chorus that we often sing in our church-meetings:
“There is joy in the presence of the Lord, There is joy in the presence of the Lord, All our tears and sorrows must go, There is joy in the presence of the Lord.” The remaining verses speak of peace, power and victory in the presence of the Lord. Singing has a tremendous power to soothe us, when we are in pain or experiencing some sorrow.
If your life is totally surrendered to the Lord in every area, you will find that things are much easier when physical pain comes to you. In the past, even a headache may have been unbearable. But now you can pray and rejoice in the Lord, even if a life-threatening illness comes upon you. The Lord has promised “to be with us when we pass through the waters”, and He has assured us that “even the floods will not overflow us”.
“When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned – The flames will not consume you. Don’t be afraid. I am with you.” (Isaiah 43:2; Isaiah 43:5 – Living) His grace is sufficient for us in every situation. As our trials grow greater, the supply of His grace will become greater too. Praise God!
Many of God’s most precious jewels are those who have come out of depths of unimaginable suffering. Just as diamonds are formed in the depths of the earth, they too have suffered tremendous heat and pressure, unseen from the eyes of all men. You can be His precious jewel too. Tears are a part of the process that transforms us into the likeness of Christ - if you submit to God’s dealing joyfully, and don’t shed tears in self-pity. God can change your pain into your gain. A close friend of mine was given a wrong medical treatment and suffers perpetually now as a result of it. But she suffered even more, because she could not bring herself to forgive the doctor. [We mustn’t forget that doctors too are human beings, capable of making mistakes.] It took her a long time to forgive the doctor and to accept her lot. Jesus is the great Physician, Who heals our inner wounds as well.
I know of a young non-Christian girl who, while waiting at a bus-stand, was accosted by her boss who came disguised as a woman, wearing a purdah (veil). He had had a grudge against her for some time and now came to take his revenge on her. He threw acid on her face and ran away. She was scarred and blinded permanently. She had been a beautiful girl, but her beauty was now gone forever. The agonizing, scalding pain was unbearable and the hospital ward she was lying in, resounded with her cries. But in that hospital someone spoke to her about the love of Jesus and her spiritual eyes were opened to see Jesus as her Saviour. Her family became impoverished as a result of her prolonged medical treatment. But they too came to know the love of Jesus and were saved. I saw a picture of her former beautiful self (before she was scalded) and I know I will see her as more beautiful than that in heaven.
I met a young woman who for many years, has had to care for her paraplegic husband. He was crippled after a fall. They had never heard of Jesus before. But when all their relatives forsook them after the tragedy, and they were helpless and devastated, the Lord met with them and they both found Jesus as their Saviour. Now God is using them to minister to other cripples and many are coming to know the Lord Jesus. Despite their immense poverty and their suffering, their faces are radiant. All who visit them are blessed and can never forget their radiant, triumphant look. Yet at the time of the accident, this wife was newly married and was expecting a baby. She became like an insane person, crying day and night for months on end, asking God why He allowed this tragedy to happen to them. Then Jesus came and flooded them with His peace and power. God is now using them powerfully in a remote part of our country. Whenever I think of them I am reminded of Psalms 34:5 that says: “They looked to Him and their faces were radiant.” Their powerful testimony challenged me immensely.
I know another young wife who was unable to bear the harassment she received from her husband and his parents, and who tried to commit suicide by pouring kerosene on herself and setting herself on fire. This, as we know, is the most common method of suicide that women in India adopt, when they are harassed by their husbands and their parents-in-law for dowry. But this young woman did not die. God not only saved her from those flames but also from the flames of hell. She is now a wonderful sister in one of our village-churches, and is a testimony to the love and the mercy of God.
These are examples of women who found the Lord Jesus as a result of serious accidents. Whenever I am reminded, I pray and at times weep before God, for these women who have to live with constant suffering.
I also know of women who have been healed miraculously. Some have become disciples of Jesus after being healed. Some have been delivered from demons and are living for the glory of God now.
Jesus healed all who came to Him, when He was on earth. Ask Him to heal you too. The Bible tells us to ask the elders of the church to anoint us with oil and pray for us in the Name of the Lord when we are sick. The prayer of faith will heal the sick (James 5:14).
Sickness can also be connected with sin. When the Lord healed people on earth, He told some of them, “Your faith has healed you. Now don’t sin any more.” Illnesses such as arthritis, allergies, high blood pressure and gastritis, are sometimes connected with inner tensions, bitterness and feelings of hurt. So we must first confess our sin and ask the Lord to forgive us. We must also set matters right with those whom we have offended. Make sure that an unforgiving spirit does not get a hold of you – no matter how great the crime someone may have committed against you. God is the one who heals, either through medical means or otherwise. And when you are healed, don’t forget to give thanks to God and to give all the glory to Him.
Submit totally to God’s will and then ask the Lord in faith to heal you. The Lord is your Healer. And after you have been healed, give your healthy life back to God and dedicate it to be used in His service to bless and help others.
We cannot understand why God allows some of His most faithful children to remain sick while He heals others. God is sovereign. He allowed James to be killed, but released Peter miraculously from prison (Acts 12:1-25). But as we considered earlier, it is our Lord who has the keys of death, and only He can open that door for you. So we cannot die before our time, if we live in His will. We don’t have to fear death. The early Christian martyrs went singing to their death.
Amy Carmichael (of Dohnavur, South India) wrote such wonderful books and poems when she was bedridden. She might never have written these if she had been fit and healthy.
Christ can be magnified in our bodies both through health as well as through a continuous thorn in the flesh (Php 1:20). So let us take our sorrows and trials as opportunities to humble ourselves before God and men. Let us never weep for ourselves.
“O my people, trust Him all the time. Pour out your longings before Him, for He can help you” (Psalms 62:8). When your “heart is close to breaking”, the Lord will be close to you (Psalms 34:18). When we pass through the valley of weeping (Baca), God can turn it into a spring of waters that will flow out in blessing to others (Psalms 84:6). As God comforts and refreshes us with living water from heaven, in the midst of our sorrows, we can share this living water with others around us.
One day, God has promised to wipe every tear away from our eyes (Revelation 21:1-4). There will be no more sorrows or trials or death then, no more mourning, or crying or pain, for all those things would have passed away. We wait eagerly, looking for that new heavens and new earth, where our Father will dwell with us forever. So our hearts eagerly cry out saying, “ Come quickly Lord Jesus.”