Pain, My Best Friend.

“Pain is a good indicator that you are alive.”

As a human, I often find myself in battle of needing answers for the pain and suffering I endure.

Pain, for over a decade has been my enemy. However, over the last few years, pain has become my best friend. In Christianity, I feel as though we sometimes have a poor perspective on pain. I believe we spend most of our lives running away from it.

Let me first say this, pain doesn’t feel good. Pain is uncomfortable. There are so many moments I wish I did not endure pain. Nonetheless, pain is necessary and essential. Pain is a good indicator that you are alive. I remember the days since I didn’t “feel.” The moments where everything seemed numb. I look back on those days and realize how dead I was. 

What’s interesting is the dynamics that pain produces within us. Without pain, we don’t grow. 

As believers, we are driven by our feelings. The problem is when pain invades our feelings we desperately try to run as far away from the situations that bring or causes pain. The pain I am talking about isn’t physical pain, although, at times it is. The pain in which I speak of is internal pain. The one that is driven by fear, anxiety, depression or confusion. That pain we so often try to runaway from instead of embracing it. Definitely easier said than done. 

What if I told you that pain is good? 

Good? Yes, good. Good doesn’t always mean it’s going to feel good. Good can often feel like tragedy and long suffering. Without pain in your life you will never truly grow. We spend more much of our life trying to run away from pain that we never really discover how strong we truly are. Learning to embrace pain as an essential part of the human essence changes our perspective on how we journey through life, and how we come and pray for Our Father. 

Pain lets me know that I am alive. The mindset changes. Pain lets me know my need for Jesus. Pain makes me aware that my soul longs for the great counselor. 

Let me finish with this. 

God can and will heal your pain in life, however, it isn’t always when we want it. Therefore, while in the waiting, let pain be what moves you closer to Holy Spirit. In my life, pain always causes me to confusion and question. See, God doesn’t have an issue with confusing you, as long as it leads you to ask Him questions.That’s what I have come to learn from my pain. Pain, leads me to a greater relationship with my Father in heaven. I get to ask Him question while enduring the suffering. 

I would much rather be in pain but alive, than be numb and dead. 

I haven’t ever shared my perspective on this matter publicly, but a few weeks ago I had a unique opportunity to share briefly with a generation of new leaders and influencer at Awaken GenZ, a ministry of Awaken OKC. 

I’m still on a discovery journey on this matter, but I hope this perspective can help shift our paradigm on pain. 

Lastly, the scripture that always brings me hope is,

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” —Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5‬