Lonnie Whitaker - The Power Behind My Pain

Chapter 1

What Is Pain?

Pain

Pain is defined as physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury. Why was pain created? What is its purpose in life? We know and have been taught that God is love and that HEs a loving God. 1 Corinthians 13:4 teaches us that Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Also, in Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. So, if we are to give and experience love, then what is the purpose of pain? I believe love is the tool that we share and give others to help build them up, and pain is the tool that teaches us how to love. It makes a person more sympathetic to the needs of others who are experiencing similar painful events, and it gives them the wisdom to be effective in their support toward others. It is used to correct, develop, and help us mature into the person we were meant to be, and it also produces perseverance: And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations [pain], knowing that tribulation [pain] produces perseverance (Romans 5:3). Pain is the touchstone of growth, and it is the power that keeps us from arrogance and being prideful: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

Sometimes the pain that we experience is not for us but for someone else. It gives others strength to endure when they see how we handle our pain. Without it, we wouldnt know the mistakes that weve made or the lessons to take from our mistakes. When life brings about a similar situation, the memory from that painful experience will cause us not to make the same mistake in the present situation. At least it shouldnt, but sometimes we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and the repetition from all those errors makes the pain unbearable. Pain is a building block in our self-development and our success.

What causes pain?

Disobedience

One of the many causes of pain is disobedience. God gave man divine instructions in the Garden of Eden, and because of mans disobedience to Gods instruction, there was a penalty that had to be paid. The first mention of pain was in Genesis 3:10: To the woman he said, I will make your pains in childbearing very severe with painful labor you will give birth to children. When we disobey instructions, whether divine or natural, there is a penalty that must be paid. There are always consequences to pay with disobedience. There was a saying I used to hear when I was coming up in the ranks in the army; many of the leaders would tell us do what our rank could afford. Make sure you can afford the price of disobedience.

Selfish Intentions

Sometimes our own selfish intentions can cause pain not just to us but also to the ones we love. Judges 11:3031, 3435 tells us And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lords, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break. He wanted victory so badly that he made a vow that he could not amend, and because of his selfish intentions, it caused him to lose the daughter he loved, his only daughter. Sometimes our intentions are not always the right ones. Before doing anything, always ask what the intentions behind your actions are and whether they will help or hurt others. What we do not only hurts ourselves, but it can also hurt the ones around us and the ones we love. Sometimes its best to think before we act and speak.

Lack of Faith

Mosess lack of faith in Gods ability to provide for the children of Israel caused Moses not to enter the Promised Land. The children of Israel were thirsty and complaining about not having any water. God told Moses to speak to the rock, but instead Moses struck the rock, and because of that, it did not demonstrate Gods holiness (Numbers 20:812). His lack of faith prevented him from entering the Promised Land. Numbers 20:12 says Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. In

Deuteronomy 3: 2327: Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying: O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon. But the Lord was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me. So, the Lord said to me: Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. Lets think about this for a minute. Moses was a Hebrew, and at the time, Pharaoh wanted all the first-born males to be killed (Exodus 1:22). Mosess mother sent him downriver to escape Pharaohs decree (Exodus 2: 14). He was found by the daughter of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:510), who took him into their Egyptian home. He grew up in the Egyptian culture and learned their customs and later found out he was native to the culture that was being oppressed by Pharaoh. He left a life of luxury for a life of inconvenience to be with his people. GOD called him to lead HIS people Israel out of Egypt. Moses and Israel were chased by Pharaoh to the Red Sea, but they escaped through the sea. Moses then had to deal with Israel bickering and complaining about being hungry and thirsty and their always wanting to return to Egypt when things got hard. Moses left them briefly to go up to the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God, and when he returned to the camp, Israel had made a golden calf, preventing them from entering the Promised Land. I think Moses had good intentions in following Gods instructions, but I think that moment was his breaking point. Can you imagine the pain he had to have felt, after everything hed done and not being able to enter the Promised Land? He even pleaded with God, and God said No, no way, not happening. I bet Moses felt at his worst ever. Im sure he was saying to himself, Dang!!! I wish I had listened! Weve all had a Dang! I should have listened moment: I know I have had plenty of them. Not believing in God can cause more pain and harm than believing in Him.

Covetousness

David, who was a man after Gods own heart (Acts 13:22), is described thus: And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will, but David had a lust problem that he could not control. He had it in his heart to take another mans woman, and in order to cover his sin, he plotted the husband Uriahs death. Because of Davids adulterous act, it caused God to curse Davids lineage. There was a saying a leader use to give soldiers during safety briefing: If its not yours dont touch it.

When we try to take what does not belong to us, it can cause a rift or a tearing apart from the will of God. So, our actions, if not done with pure and true intentions, can cause emotional disaster. God never causes pain, but we sometimes bring pain on ourselves. Gods intention has always been for us to have peace, a future, and hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Even though we may cause our own pain, God can still use that pain to carry out His purpose in our lives. Everything that happens to us, whether good or bad, is (what I like to call) the basic training of life. If God allowed it to happen, then it was meant to happen. When we begin to look at pain as a positive, powerful element, thats when we begin to harness it for the goodness of His purpose and the vision that He gave us.