Pain is a part of the human existence. Physical pain. Mental pain. Emotional pain. It is unavoidable. But as humans we will always try to either avoid it or try to fix it as quickly as possible.
I see this in myself all the time. I experience or anticipate pain and my first instinct is to make it better. By being busy or working furiously on a project. Eating chocolate. By turning to things, distractions, that will ease the pain. Most often it doesn’t solve the problem, it just puts it off and ends up extending the pain even further.
Why is it so much easier to turn to things or others to ease our inner struggles than it is to trust Jesus? Our great healer. The one who knows and loves us beyond reason or comprehension and promises to meet all our needs. Our endless source of every resource we could ever possibly need.
Sometimes our pain goes back into our pasts. Things that have happened to us or choices that we’ve made. Shattered dreams or empty promises. We may not even be aware that the pain is what is causing us to behave or think in the way that we do. We learn to live with and cope with the pain as a means of survival. Sometimes at the expense of others, and always at the expense of ourselves.
But what if I take Jesus at His word? What if I decide to trust that He really, truly cares for me and has only good intentions toward me? If I were able to grasp just a corner of His massive blanket of love, would I still look for comfort from other sources?
And not only will Jesus comfort, He will truly heal. He is not a bandaid. He is the most brilliant and experienced “heart surgeon” who will, if we allow, go to the source of our pain and either fix our brokenness or replace it with something new. He can take hearts that have hardened in defense against pain and massage them back to softness.
Jesus, take whatever pain I have, every pain I will have, and do Your amazing work with it. Give the pain purpose, use it to change and grow me and then, please, please do what You do so well and heal the pain at its source.
Psalm 34:18 – The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
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.
