Pain: It Is Killing You!

Pain: It Is Killing You! (If You Are Not Using God’s Medicine)       Kelly Durant 2-23-14

Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

2. Ever since I was little I learned that pain usually occurred as a means of persuasion. For example, when I was 2 I learned not to put paperclips in the wall socket. At age 6 if I wandered too far away down the street while playing, and didn’t answer when my mother called, when I got back I would get a switching for disobeying.  At school at age 8 when I would play wrestle with my friends in the sand pit and when they had me or I had them in an uncomfortable hold, the loser had to say “uncle” to stop the pain of the vice grip.

Here is a reality we rarely discuss about ourselves: everyone in life must endure pain of all different kinds. Pain abruptly stops us in our tracks and refocuses our attention on an immediate matter. Pain will cause a reaction! It might be with tears, a slowing down and subduing or humbling, or sometimes the contrary, anger may collectively fester over pain.

a) Pain exists as a part of our fallen world, from the out of control natural world, a product of diseases and sicknesses spread by man’s ignorance or sin. B) Pain also can be something afflicted on us from another human source, an oppressive authority applying instruments of pain for dominion. C) Pain additionally may be a consequence of a wrong personal decision, a bad friends, an abuse of a substance or alcohol, or be a consequence from sins resulting from having a wrong lifestyle or belief system condemned by God.

 And here is what everyone fears, that God may be allowing a certain pain in our lives for a reason and we know only He can stop it so you or I ask in prayer, “How can you and I fix this situation, Lord?  How can I please you, God, to make it stop?” Help!

3. Apart from these 3 of many possibilities of sources for pain there also exists a collective suffering in mass by God’s people that few understand unless they are a child of God and know God’s heart and have suffered in a similar circumstance. Almost everyone has seen a movie on the 10 commandants and knows about the Exodus. What was the situation? Israel, God’s people, had suffered as slaves for a few hundred years and the people were in pain from the unjust degrading Egyptian oppressors. But God hears the prayers of the righteous and He is our liberator through Jesus, right? Egypt’s gods were no gods at all and Egypt has been dominated by other world powers or their own internal oppressors ever since the Israelites were freed! God is always the ultimate winner!

Exodus 2: 23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

God hears our cries when we are in pain and God chose Moses to lead them out of Egypt! God always has mercy on his children, but each child of God must recognize that it is only His power that can save them from their pain before God will choose to act. God has a loving heart and He hates suffering but it is our role to recognize that He is the power above all powers and the cure for our aching hearts, minds, and bodies. 

4. I know many of you in this room have endured broken bones, endured different sicknesses, and probably had your heart broken as well. I think everyone has endured an intense pain of some kind! Oh, let me not forget the pain of having a baby! With physical injuries or viruses you have decreased mobility and plenty of time is needed to recover, right? Pain=Time with God.

Like it or not, we must accept the fact that certain diseases exist, and they exist as a punishment on the wicked but God protects his own if they do not participate in the ways of the wicked. Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Think about diseases and how they are spread, most sexually transmitted ones come from animals and then they are spread by promiscuity. Because sin abounds today much pain is spread by people who willfully knowingly spread viruses, especially HIV, and others pass germs on by having unwashed hands. Also bio-terrorism (germ warfare) and waste toxins is a new means of destruction. There is a war on humans and for years corporations and governments around the world have for material gain knowingly allowed chemicals and toxins to make sick millions in communities in almost every major city.

We must always pray for those suffering with cancer and other diseases induced by man’s destructive practices as many innocent people suffer from the sins of others in the community.

5. I think we all hate physical pain! When a tooth hurts you will do anything to make it stop right? God has mercy on us and He created certain plants that (poppy, coca, etc.) can put to sleep certain nerves but these substances were not created for continual use, only a temporary one. The sad part is in most parts of the world the people are so poor (1/3 of the people of the world) that they just have to endure pain with no relief. Drugs are sold mostly to the rich and middle class in wealthy nations, not in the poor countries.

I found an article last week that exposes that 70 million Americans are on pain killers or mind altering substances, and there are many consequences from this abuse to try and mask pain. All recent mass murders have been done by people or kids abusing pharmaceuticals. Violence and cold-hearted acts are done by people numbed to pain. Almost every reformed prostitute will testify they abused drugs and alcohol to escape the pain of guilt and humiliation. It took the recent death of an actor to expose that an abundance of killer heroine is currently on the streets of America. Drugs waste away kidneys and livers and minds, killing abstract thinking. Pain relievers have their place but they become Satan’s tools of destruction when abused.  

But here is an interesting thing about physical pain, prayer can alleviate it often as well as a drug! Prayer is an unexplained phenomenon of science. Studies have been done and there is evidence that prayer, especially prayer with others, can relieve pain and even heal. This is the natural remedy God wants us to use more than any other! You must pray to discern when you need a doctor though because it is destructive ignorance to allow an emergency situation to be unattended to!

6. What about pain from oppression?  I know many people will agree with me they would prefer to experience a physical pain rather than a heart break pain. What do I mean? Many people live heart-broken due to the oppression of their abusive spouse, children, bosses, or in particular by their governing authorities.  In all large cities there always exists mafias, pimps, and corrupt authorities that use people as human capital to be exploited. And look at the Ukraine, Venezuela, and N. Korea (amongst many others) right now; the people there are in acute pain and they are just reliving what Russia, China, Cuba, and hundreds of other nations have gone through throughout the ages. People foolishly empower abusers for personal gain! But the gain only goes into the hands of a few!   

Look at the Israelites again, for example. They were suffering in slavery and hard labor, but I think what hurt them the most was the abandoned feeling of hopelessness. They knew that they had a righteous God as their Father, but they felt the pain that He was not blessing them with their own land and nation to live in freedom. They had to endure living under the false gods of the Egyptians and this was humiliating. What a waste of manpower to move stones that were all for the vanity of surrounding a cadaver with luxury.

But what happened in Egypt? How did God fix the problem of their oppression and heart break?  God raised up a leader to free them! He was the man of God for the hour to free the hurting Israelite people to restore dignity. He was a hero, a savior, a redeemer receiving by divine inspiration God’s laws for the formation of their new nation.  In the same manner Jesus steps up and saves men and women from their own sins and destructions, and from other oppressors around them. Today Jesus is our savior, hero, liberator, and healer!

7. Normal love relationships involve pain between couples have complications from time to time and sometimes there are periods of time of not feeling very close to the other. These painful ups and downs may be caused by the sins of one or both, and normal recovery is expected. But when total abandonment occurs, that is a deep pain that needs a long recovery time. Abandoned abused people need many friends supporting them, and especially they need faith in Jesus to know that He heals all brokenness and all things will come out for the good in the end. (Rom 8:28)

You and I have known of many abusive cases between couples after a divorce or abandonment, but haven’t we witnessed how God often raises up another person to love and heal and erase the pain in the one with the wounded heart?  God has always wanted us to live pain free and happy (remember how nice the Garden of Eden was) but when suffering has come either by injustices, sicknesses, or as a punishment, God is still there to heal. Consider this beautiful promise of God to us and to Israel. He restores and inspires us despite any loss or pain.

Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

8. One last horrific thing about pain, there are sadistic people who enjoy seeing others in pain!  Instead of being compassionate like God, Jesus, and a true Christian, these are people who get enjoyment hearing about your pain and instead of rejoicing in God, they get happy over the sufferings of others?!

When you identify a person as being unloving, resentful, revengeful, and merciless, I suggest you tell them about how God wants to love them and convert them so they leave all their bitterness behind and start over with a whole new life. But if they reject God’s message you have delivered your soul and next I suggest you get out of harm’s way and avoid them so you don’t become the next victim they attack! Tormented souls are always trying to bring pain on to others!

I hate the sewage of the bulk of Hollywood’s productions as they love to glorify violence, they make horror and torture seem amusing and fun. If it were real pain it would not be fun, it would make you vomit in fear. I have known in my lifetime political people in So. America who are deeply traumatized due to enduring torture (war vets too) and to hear of their suffering is no fun at all! Some of you here who are Cuban know what fear and pain is about and thank God you have been away from that for a number of years already.  

9. As we started off reading in Romans that the whole world groans in pain! How true is that!  Not just Venezuela, and the Ukraine are in pain; I challenge you to investigate the horrific deeds done by the Communist, Arab, Fascists, and non-Christian countries. (that includes about 5 billion as only 2 billion are Christian and maybe only 10% of them really are authentic!) Look at the U.S. and it’s refusal to address the violence, crime, abortion, and drug abuse issues, the sexual trafficking and in-your-face perversions, and the mafias and unions that oppress and exploit their own people. Crime and indifference has exponentially risen within the just the past few years!

Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.   I get angry when people do not have compassion! I have written poems, I have expressed it as often as I can, let’s do something to heal the pain of others! Jesus did! When I discover a person is just another selfish rat that does not care about the needs and suffering of others, I consider them a condemned unsaved heathen by their own choice that will get no mercy from God because they showed no mercy when they had the chance! We need to expose the evil of apathy as often as possible!

10. God’s design is for us to be restored and from heartbreak in our past. In order to live happy, blessed, and pain free, and be a blessing to others, you and I must first have our own personal pain erased by the touch of the Lord’s healing. It starts with prayer and often happens when a person accepts Jesus. God’s touch can often make you or I cry and weep and this cleans out the heart.

I compare this to cleaning a wound. It is painful to have a cloth and peroxide go over the open skin, but if it is not done, infection will set in and the temporary burn of pain will be nothing compared to the long lasting damaging pain of unresolved dirt and destructive issues. Or like a rotting tooth or toe, if not eliminated it will rot the whole body to death in a short time!

We suffer now in our hearts, bodies and minds due to ourselves and others allowing Satan’s destruction to trick us. A compassionate Christian feels pain when others suffer, but the Holy Spirit will speak to one’s heart through the word of God and bring healing. The best thing you can do for others is to heal yourself first so you will be able to go out and heal others by sharing hope, faith, love, and prayer! And remember our lives are only a shadow and soon in heaven God will wipe away all tears and suffering from violence, sicknesses and death for us will never be an issue anymore! Let’s pray to heal, ourselves, and others who need us!