Joni Tada - Pain and Providence

• Reveals the amount of people that say they experience chronic pain daily & gives hope knowing that youre not alone in less than 30 minutes.
• Gives wisdom, tips and insight from Joni Eareckson Tada, an international advocate for individuals with disabilities, a published author, a founder of a non-profit organization, and a quadriplegic who has learned how to trust in God in all circumstances.
• Speaks to what the Bible says about enduring pain as a believer.

Its not going to go away. The realization may have been years in the making, or it may have come in one swift, devastating stroke. But at last you know that painyour pain, whatever it may beis here to stay. Perhaps it is an illness, or a rebellious child, a chronic muscle problem, the death of a loved one, or a severe disability in the family. Whatever form it takes, its the common experience of all people. Human pain wears a thousand guises.

Although I have lived as a quadriplegic for more than 45 years and have survived stage 3 cancer, both conditions pale when it comes to living with chronic pain. Ten years ago, I began experiencing a knifing pain in my left hip and back. Others may say Im a stalwart and seasoned Christian, but Ill confess: When chronic pain moves in to stay, it can erode your joy like acid, warp your personality, and rob you of the ability to tackle the smallest of tasks. When you are in pain:

• You dial down your days into hourly increments: If only I can make it to the next hour, and then, bedtime.
• Your bed is no longer the place of comfort and rest it once was: I cant get to sleep again tonight. When will morning ever come?
• Pain and chronic illness distract you from important relationships: I dont even know what a normal life is anymore, and my battle with pain seems to be pushing people away!
• Pain and illness can end up defining who you are: I feel like the real me has been hijacked! How can I live this way?

Providence:

Because we know God holds all the keys of the universe, we also know he sees and governs everything that happens on earth.

Pain and chronic illness can make you question God and his power. Consider these typical questions:

• Does God create situations to intentionally make you as unhappy as you can possibly be?
• Or does he wish for you a pain-free, healthier life, but is powerless to do anything about it?
• Are God and the devil in an arm-wrestling match over your body? If so, who is in controlGod or the devil?
• And if your pain does fall under the control of God, why doesnt he stop it, or at least alleviate it?

Over the next pages, lets take a close and honest look at what Gods Word has to say about pain and the providence of God.

Acute pain is your bodys way of waving a red flag for immediate attention, often because of an injury. Chronic pain, on the other hand, lasts for weeks, months, or years. It affects about 38% of Americansmore than cancer, diabetes, and heart disease combined.

• Pain Is Both Physical and Emotional: Pain, especially chronic pain, affects more than your body. Its psychologically stressful and can lead to emotions like anger and frustration. Pain and stress can be a vicious circle, increasing stress levels, which in turn can make pain worse. Seventy-seven percent of people with chronic pain report depression, and seventy percent report trouble concentrating.
• Women Feel More Pain than Men: Women experience more pain than men over their lifetimes. Studies also show that women may experience pain differentlyoften more intenselythan men do.
• The Brain Doesnt Feel Pain: When you stub your toe or touch something hot, your body releases chemicals that send pain signals up through the spinal cord to receptors in the brain. The brain then sends the pain message back down to the part of the body that hurts. But although its the interpreter of pain, the brain itself does not have pain-sensitive nerves.
• Back Pain Is the Most Common Pain Condition: In a survey done by the National Institutes of Health, 27 percent of Americans said low back pain was their most common type of pain, followed by headaches or migraines (15 percent). More than 26 million Americans aged 20 to 64 suffer from back pain, and each year we spend at least $50 billion on back pain relief. (2012 Everyday Health, Inc. www.everydayhealth.com)

You are not alone! Do not allow pain to isolate you. Do not believe that no one understands. Remember, many others are dealing with pain and/or chronic medical conditions like yours.

Robnroll

The Bible: A Book about Real Life

The God of the Bible is not a celestial ogre who is out to make your life miserablerather, the God of the Bible is so interested in your earthly well-being and eternal welfare that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to deliver you from a misery far more devastating than any autoimmune syndrome, migraine headache, or degenerative disc disease.

God has made a huge investment in your personal condition, and he is heaven-bent on applying to you every benefit of his Sons resurrection, including peace that is profound, joy overflowing, contentment that is sweet, and a soul that is settled.

The Word of God does not tiptoe around the subject of suffering as though avoiding the issue; the Bible resonates with your pain and records your lament. In short, God understands. Just consider...

• My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God. Psalm 38:78, 15
• Have you, [God], rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. Jeremiah 14:19
• For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. Psalm 22:24
• Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. Psalm 25:1617

God and Pain: How Should We Pray?

Okay, you say, God understands my condition, but what is he doing about it? Many of us try to put God in a box and impose upon him what we believe is the right and fair thing to do. But what if we ring heavens phone off the hook, asking God to heal us, and he says No or perhaps Not now? What is our next step?

First, lets consider the God with whom we are dealing. He says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isa. 55:89). Also, Romans 11:3334 says, How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?