Ouch, that smarts!
Updated: Jan 13
Recently I had a problem with a crown on my tooth and ended up having oral surgery. Boy, did it smart! Who would have thought something so small could hurt so bad?
That same week, my ENT told me that I need to have surgery to remove my tonsils. The first thing the nurse said after making the appointment was, "call your pharmacy and see if they carry the liquid hydrocodone." "Good grief", I thought to myself, I guess I'm in for some real lingering pain. The tooth must be a warmup. I'm a bit anxious about the upcoming process.
When we face things that seem like they will involve excruciating pain, we tend to get anxious. I know your probably thinking I have had way worse than that to face. Honestly, for me, this is not the worst thing I have ever faced, but it still is something I'm not looking forward to. I remember the night my husband lay in the hospital after suffering a massive heart attack and not getting to be inside the hospital with him because of COVID. That was a different kind of pain. However, it was a type of excruciating pain, especially not knowing if he would live or die that night. I remember my grandson just weeks old, being on a ventilator because he wasn't breathing correctly and wondering if he indeed had the rare genetic disease. That was torture. I remember the day my husband suddenly appeared in the doorway of my classroom where I teach to tell me that they just found his mom dead. By now, you may be thinking of your life. After all, the list could go on, and you could fill in the blank with your own story.
Author C. S. Lewis wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
Yes, pain comes in different forms., physical, and emotional, and yet like Lewis writes, it serves like a grand microphone reaching right into our bodies and minds with the blaring sound of angst, nausea, desperation, and suffering.
Not only does pain come in loud and clear, but it also gives us pause. Pain insists upon being attended to immediately when it is intense. It makes us sit up and take notice. We wince upon its arrival and then brace ourselves, all the while hoping it quickly passes so things can go back to "normal."
My prayer for you is that you will be able to lean into Jesus and let him soothe your pain and anxiety and that you will let others around you minister to you, so the burden seems shared and a bit lighter. My prayer for you is that you will consider what scripture says," Cast all your cares on Him for he cares for you." I Peter 5:7.
In Hebrews 13:5, Christ says, "Never will I leave you: never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) Jesus is only a thought away. His presence abides with his children all the time. There to comfort, give peace and give healing. He is present in the pleasure and in the pain, in the good and in the bad.
His still small voice is in the whisper of the wind and in the beauty of His creation. Just in case we miss Him in the whisper there is always the mighty sound of his voice in the pain, in the storm that says to our soul, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." I Peter 5:7
Christ Culture Community Church is a group of believers in Farmersville/Princeton, TX dedicated to making Jesus known; they are located at 12 Stories Coffee Shop in Downtown Farmersville.