Failing To Face Up To Pain

Romans 12:12 (Amplified Bible) —

‘…constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress…’

Larry Crabb, in his book, Inside Out* advocates that Christians should address and not deny the hurt and pain they experience in this life. He says that God has given us a desire to know him and a thirst that will not entirely be satisfied until we live with him after death. He suggests that not dealing with or denying this pain creates two consequences in our personal lives that interfere both with our relationship with God and our relationships with others.

The first problem is that we can become very self-protective. We seek to engineer and manage our lives to minimise further hurt and disappointment. This leads us to hang back from closer relationships, in case they cause us pain or our expectations are not fulfilled. But what we are doing is seeking to manage our own lives and are not trusting God to look after us - we think that we can do a better job!

The second problem is that we feel Christians should not struggle with pain or disappointment; so when we do, we assume we're not getting our Christianity “right”. But rather than talk it through with someone we can trust, we hide it and pretend we are OK.  But that means we are hiding the real person who needs to connect with others.

In both cases our relationships suffer and, as a result, we feel more isolated, more hurt and unable to find a way out.

F.B. Meyer said that ‘the education of our faith is incomplete (till) we learn that God’s providence works through loss’**and Oswald Chambers said that ‘the discipline of dismay is an essential lesson a disciple must learn’***

Tomorrow we will look at how God uses the painful experiences we may be going through for our good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we think that we can manage our own lives and fail to trust you. Help us to face up to the pain of life’s struggles and to allow you to work out your purposes in our lives, through them. In Jesus’ Name.

* Dr. Larry Crabb, Inside Out (1990, Amersham-on-the-Hill, Scripture Press)

**F.D.Meyer quoted by Bob Gass in The Best of the Word for Today - Volume 5 ;14April reading

***Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest - Reading for 15 March.