Rob Prince - Chronic Pain: Finding Hope in the Midst of Suffering

Copyright 2014 by Rob Prince

2014 eISBN 978-0-8341-3281-8

Printed in the
United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. If you have received this publication from any source other than an online bookstore, youve received a pirated copy. Please contact us at the Nazarene Publishing House and notify us of the situation.

Cover Design: Ryan Deo
Interior Design: Sharon Page

All Scripture quotations not otherwise designated are from the The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Permission to quote from the following copyrighted versions of the Bible is acknowledged with appreciation:

Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (TM). Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

DEDICATION

To Karla: When she said, In sickness and in health, she meant it. She has kept her promises, and I love her for it!

To Alex and Ben: When they say, Dad,
those boys (now men) still make my day.

CONTENTS

I am thankful for my family (both my immediate and extended versions). They have not only loved me and encouraged me but, as you will see, given me a great resource of stories for this book and countless sermons.

I am thankful for the great churches I have served in Alanson, Bad Axe (yes, there is a town called Bad Axe), Metropolitan, Richfield, Flint Central, (all in Michigan), and Kansas City (Central Church). They have been filled with God-following, pastor-loving, wonderfully kind people. The best thing I could say about them is that when my son Ben sensed a call into vocational ministry and I was questioning that decision, I asked him, What will you do if you pastor a mean church with mean people? Ben, in absolute astonishment, asked, Are there churches like that? He has only known churches filled with godly Christ followers who have loved him and the rest of our family. Thank you!

I am thankful for my many health providers. Im sure there are bad doctors out there (somebody had to finish at the bottom of their graduating class), but mine have all been great!

I am also grateful to Bonnie Perry and the people of the Nazarene Publishing House who took their one-time sanitation engineer (janitor) and helped fulfill my call to not only preach the good news of Jesus Christ but also write of God and his great love.

And most importantly, I am forever grateful for the Mighty Healer, the Great I AM, our glorious heavenly Father!

Pain is zero fun. The pain Ive dealt with comes in the form of migraines. They are rotten, horrible, awful, and can ruin the best of plans. Throughout this book, I will discuss my journey of chronic pain, which for me means headaches. Though you may be suffering from a different type of chronic pain, I hope you can learn from my story.

I am not a doctor or the son of a doctor (as you can probably tell from the usage of my previously mentioned non-medical lingo to describe migraines and headaches). Although as I am typing these words I am wearing a Harvard Medical School hoodie that I bought at my neighbors garage saleso maybe I am secretly desiring to be a doctor. Weird. My hoodie notwithstanding, this book is not intended to address medical issues as they relate to pain. Call a doctor if you are experiencing pain. The intention of this book is not to give a medical history of migraines or any kind of diagnosis as it relates to pain troubles. I may be a member of the clergy, but I am a layman when it comes to medical issues. When describing my journey, I use the terms headache and migraine interchangeably because in my mind they are both a pain and equally disrupt life. My true goal is to address the spiritual issues and questions that arise from battling chronic pain and offer the hope found in Jesus Christ to those who are suffering from this ailment.

I am a pastora pastor with chronic pain. (See the chapter that deals with this unique challenge.) Having lived most of my life battling migraines, surviving a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and constantly dealing with issues related to headaches, I am acutely aware that not all headache relief comes from a bottle of pills or the various treatments available. The spiritual aspect of pain relief is what this book addresses.

As such, before you read another word, please let me offer this disclaimer. This book is not

1. A heres how I got rid of my pain in five easy steps and you can do it too book

2. An if you have faith and pray enough, then you will be pain-free in a week book or

3. A send me twenty-five dollars and I will pray for you and your pain will be gone book

This book is more of an I know what you are going through and God is still God even when you experience excruciating pain book. Its more of a travel guide of a fellow chronic pain sufferer. It is written by one of the millions of Americans who have spent enough nights in a dark room, trying to hear nothing but silence, wondering why the pain medicine is not working at all, and praying that the pain would leave.

So if you are also one of the millions who suffer from chronic pain or if you live with one or if you are friends with one, my hope is that this book will help and that those battling chronic pain will come to see God at work as I have in my journey.

My prayer is that chronic pain sufferers will hear what Jeremiah heard. The Lord spoke to the prophet with these words: I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27). Those are helpful words when one realizes the obvious answer to Gods rhetorical question is, Of course not. Of course, nothing is too hard for the God of all mankindincluding pain that makes all logical thought seem next to impossible. So why should I worry? God is in control. Nothing is too hard for him. I know that I can trust him.

On December 20, 2007, I suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (more on that later). Many die from such a condition, but God chose to touch me in a powerful way. I was back preaching in three weeks and back to my regular schedule in six weeks. Still, he has not chosen to eliminate all headaches from my life. In fact, migraines are a constant reminder of my frailty. Please know the thesis of this book is that through every pain I can testify that God is good, that his love endures forever, and that nothing is too hard for him.

If you are a fellow chronic pain sufferer, my prayer is that you will see Gods powerful and healing touch upon your life. Should God heal you today or tomorrow or not until heaven, I pray that you will experience his presence and glory throughout the journey. I hope this book will aid in that discovery.

But God is like a sweet aroma for the pain sufferer.

If you are one of my fellow Americans that struggle with chronic pain, then you already know that it stinks. Theres not a silver lining on the cloud. It doesnt matter if youre a cup is half empty or cup is half full type of person. It doesnt matter if you are a positive-thinking optimist or if you have a black cloud over your head, always negative Nellie. Even if your team wins the Super Bowl, your rich uncle from Hoboken puts you in his will, and the weatherman says the day is perfect, chronic pain still stinks.