July 19 2017 – Click here to listen
Saturday I attended a memorial celebration for the late Sheila Raye Charles, (daughter of legendary singer/musician Ray Charles.) Her husband Tony saw me and immediately came over and talked to me and there could be no doubt that he was suffering deep pain from his loss. He loved Sheila dearly and even though he knew with certainty that she is with Jesus in a better place for all of eternity, it still hurts and he misses her dearly. I talked to Sheila’s sister and other friends and members of the family and we were all in the same shape.
Yesterday I endured surgery on my mouth. My gums were sliced, scraped, and a tooth was pulled and a very serious infection was drilled, dug out, and cut away along with membrane from my upper palate and the bone that once resided there. A new membrane was grafted in along with donor bone grafts and finally the opening was sewn shut. Although I was given shots in my upper palate and all around the area, they had to keep giving me additional numbing shots as the procedure proceeded and new pains jolted through me like a bolt of lightning with the discovery of each one.
The bottom line is that it really hurt to have this procedure done. Not only was the pain of the operation intense, but I told the oral surgeon that I now knew how it feels to be waterboarded as I very nearly drowned in all the water that they kept squirting in my mouth.
So, I figured once the operation was over the pain would subside.
Boink! – Wrong!
When the numbing agent completely wore off, the pain really kicked in, and even at this very moment I can literally feel every beat of my heart as it painfully throbs throughout the area where my tooth once thrived.
Why do you suppose God allows pain in our lives?
The question was asked by Job, and David in his Psalms, and elsewhere in the Bible and by the modern theologians of today.
Great news! I have thoroughly researched this question and am confident that I can give you the answer in just three powerful words:
I don’t know!
Nor does anyone else this side of heaven. God allows it for His own reasons. He is sovereign and has not elected to disclose why and that is His prerogative.
So that leaves us with what I deem to be our best options. Grin and bear it and know that in time the pain will subside. That last one reminds me of hitting one’s finger with a hammer. When you strike it, logically you know that it will eventually quit hurting, but doggone it when you hit it – It hurts!
Maybe knowing that it will eventually stop hurting can comfort us to a degree, but this verse will help even more: Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Okay I’ll just try to grin and bear it, even if for some strange reason my eyes start leaking. Note: Crying is hard for me to even say the word, much less admit to it, but on occasion my eyes do leak a little.
It also might help to memorize 1 Corinthians 2:9: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Remember Romans 8:28 the Bible promises, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” That verse encourages me greatly.
I like to prepare myself for pain so I won’t be surprised when it strikes. We should know that it is us who decides whether to turn bitter or turn to God for peace and courage. We must first realize we are not being singled out for punishment, but all of mankind will at some point endure pain in our lives. God has not forgotten or forsaken us when we do. He has a plan and it is a good one whether we know or not – He knows! (Remember Romans 8:28? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”)
My tooth still hurts and Sheila Ray’s family still endures the pain of the loss of their loved one but to a person through our pain we still know peace, joy, and love that comes from Christ. Without Jesus, life would be unbearable for me. He is our hope!
John 16:33. “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. But be courageous! I have conquered the world.”