This Will Only Hurt For A Little Bit

We never like hearing someone say "This will only hurt for a little bit!" We would almost rather not to be warned and just let it happen because anticipation of pain makes us tense up. As a friend of mine says, "Get all twisted up!" God has done both with me.  There are seasons in my life where I 'know" through God's Holy Spirit that a "strom" is coming.  I pray, prepare and brace for the lesson I am about to be taught.  At other times, without warning I am overwhelmed with troubles that were at the time unforseen.  Either way, we can be grateful that God is in the middle of our troubles with us.  Nothing touches us that He does not allow. He walks through life with us.  That's a hard concept to master, the "Soverignty of God", especially when tough things happen like health scares, losing loved ones, financial hardships, stress, problems at work and relationships.

To reject the idea that God is not involved in whatever we are going through removes purpose from our pain.  If it is going to hurt when I take a Flu Shot, I am hoping it will keep me from getting sick.  I take the shot with the purpose of being well.  It's no garuntee, but either way it helps me put up with the pain of getting it.  Here are some Bible verses regarding finding purpose through pain in our lives:

2 Corinthians 4:17 (New Living Translation)

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New Living Translation)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation)

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Here is the nugget I have walked away with .. .

Troubles seek to diminish our faith, God seeks to develop it.

Let's not shy away from God for fear of being hurt but fear of not becoming ALL He has planned for us.

In Him,

James