Necessary Pain

photo by YouVersion

I spent the last four days on my back. I generally have a pretty high tolerance to pain, but my first migraine has been awful. I couldn’t sit up without feeling like my head was going to explode, and staying upright for more than a few minutes made me nauseous. The reason this is coming out late today is because this is the first time since Thursday morning that I have been able to stay upright long enough to get on the computer. All that was bad enough, but riding in a vehicle was excruciating and led to vomiting and tears every time. Unfortunately, the only way to get to a doctor so that I could get better was in a moving vehicle. As painful as it was, I had to do it. Some of the exercises I was given were also painful, but they were necessary for healing.

 

We all experience pain whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. It is a necessary evil of living in a sin-filled world. It is something we prefer to avoid. Most of the time we would prefer to stay in our bubble, comfortable and safe, which may prevent pain or keep it nominal, but it will not lead to healing. Unfortunately, the path to healing is often painful, and the pain gets worse before it can get better. My ordeal this weekend is a good example. I could have stayed in bed where I felt perfectly fine flat on my back and avoided the excruciating pain of moving, but then I would never have gotten better. I wouldn’t have experienced much pain, but I would have been confined to my bed indefinitely. Sometimes, pain is necessary.

 

Matthew 9:20-22 New American Standard Bible

And behold, a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind Him, and touched the border of His cloak; for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His cloak, I will get well.” But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” And at once the woman was made well.

 

This woman had suffered for years. No one could heal her, or even bring relief. Only Jesus could do that. Yet I am sure that going out to find Him, to meet Him, was painful on multiple levels. However, that pain was necessary for her healing. She already had the faith, but it required action and obedience. She had to act on her faith, and it required physical pain (and possibly emotional pain in the embarrassment of coming out in public), but it brought healing. As in my case, the road to physical healing was painful but necessary, for healing could not be found without it.

 

Emotional healing is the same way. In order to heal from the hurts we have suffered, we have to be willing to deal with them, in the same way that a doctor will scrub a wound to remove infection so that healing can take place. Some may ask why open a wound that is closed, but if the wound has never been cleansed, only brushed over, then it has not truly healed and we will continue to experience the consequences of that pain even if we are numb to it. Much like staying in bed to avoid the pain of a trip to the doctor, refusing to deal with the issue prevents healing and keeps us from growing or even functioning properly. We will remain broken and dysfunctional until we are willing to face the pain.

 

2 Corinthians 1:5-6 New American Standard Bible

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;

 

Pain has its purpose, part of that is the path to healing, another part of it is developing compassion and empathy for others. We can feel sorry for someone who is hurting, but we really can’t relate unless we’ve been there, and the best comfort comes from those who understand. I’ve actually had well-meaning words come from those who wanted to help that actually did more harm because they didn’t understand what I was going through.

 

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 New American Standard Bible

For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Hebrews 12:11 New American Standard Bible

For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Zechariah 13:9 New American Standard Bible

And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’

 

Another purpose in pain is our spiritual growth. Whether the pain is physical or emotional, the road to healing does more than “fix the problem,” it helps us to grow in our faith and become more like Christ. Whether that pain is outright discipline for sin, or just part of this broken life, we can learn and grow from it if we will surrender our pain to God and walk His path. Refining is never pleasant in the moment. In order for gold and silver to be refined they are heated to melting multiple times until all the impurities can be removed. In a spiritual sense, that is not fun. To be heated to our breaking point is painful, but necessary.

 

Isaiah 53:4-6 New American Standard Bible

However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10 New American Standard Bible

For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

 

Jesus endured the worst pain in order to bring us spiritual healing. It is the only way we could possibly have access to that healing. Salvation requires the pain of acknowledging our sin, recognizing that we are wrong and need God’s help. But that conviction of sin, while painful, is necessary because we cannot receive spiritual healing without it; without our pain or His pain.

 

It is important to note that not all pain is necessary or helpful. In my case, going to the doctor was necessary pain, but going for a road trip just for fun would have been unnecessary, and may have actually done some harm. Emotionally, dwelling on the hurts of the past without trying to deal with them is unnecessary and counterproductive pain. Spiritually, condemnation is painful, but not necessarily helpful. As the last verse said, when we are confronted with our sin we are made sorry, but if that sorrow doesn’t lead us to repentance it is wasted and leads to death. We need to make sure that when we embark on the path of pain that it is the path to healing and not just more pain.

 

What pain are you experiencing? Are you on the path to healing or are you staying where it is comfortable? Are you willing to endure pain if it leads to healing? In all of this, seek God’s guidance. He will lead you on the path to healing and provide comfort and relief in the pain.