Ouch a painful topic you may say. But back several years when I was a little naughty sweet kid, we had a family ritual that involved taking malaria tablets every sunday.The thought of taking those horrible tasting nivaquinne tablets is still a nightmarish experience. I bet if I grew up in the US, my mom would have been charged with child abuse, period!! Another of her favourite health rituals was the foul tasting egg nog that was made with raw egg in my favourite cup of bournvita( caught her on that one by scooping underneath my cup and that was the end of it)But my wonderful and absolutely loving MOM would swear by her rituals that it was to keep me healthy and for the most part, it did. It was a painful experience but it did the work.
Recently, while meditating on the homily in my church's Nutshell bulletin titled the Gain in Pain, it made me realise how far I had come in the understanding of the neccessity of pain in achieving success in my life and indeed fulfilling God's plan and purpose.I recommend reading Nutshell for those of you who do not attend Covenant Christian Centre.It is of tremendous spiritual value.Simply go to insightsforliving.org.In a very uncanny way, the homilies have provided me with practical guidance at very crucial times of my life and at other times, gave encouragement and confirmation in times of uncertainty.
The neccesity of pain for change was brought home to me vividly about a month ago when I woke up one morning with a massive attack of backpain- the excruciating type that renders you helpless and in tears. That was my lot. But the thoughts and actions that I took that brought me through to my healing and into a new level of experience of spiritual truth is what I share with you.
Prior to recent and continious changes( I am undergoing a painful remodelling to bring me into God's plans and purposes)I was a CHALLENGEPHOBIC!!! yeah, you know the kind that does not want challenges beyond my comfort zone. I abhored anything that caused me some measure of pain, grumbled, murmured and in lots of cases APPEALED TO GOD to please let this cup pass me by.( sounds familiar? well you are in good company as Jesus also went through that same experience. But!!how did He handle it?) When my tears didn't move God and I came through it, I didn't learn the lessons because I was full of annoyance. What a waste.
However, through various teachings from church, books, people and my personal experiences, the Holy Spirit has been at work to changing my mindset. Slowly, steadily but surely I have come to understand the neccessity of pain for CHANGE.The word challenge, trials, problems, persecutions (and whatever name you give these painful experiences) took on a new meaning and somehow in that process of my mind's renewal, I understood and experienced the scripture in James 1v2-4 " Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows it's true colours. so don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in anyway." ( The Message Bible) Then the Japanese understanding of the word "danger" as crisis and opportunity was finally stamped in my mind
Eureka!!! I finally GOT IT ( well I am also in good company with Apostle Paul)There is a threshold of pain for every successful task and desire. Such pain can be minimal or maximum depending on what level of task and your success expectation but it is THERE. You can't buy your way out of it and you can't delegate this. the pain is completely YOURS. One of my favourite scripture on this and very apt too is 2Corinthians 12v7-10" .....satan's angel did his best to get me down, what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that and then he told me, My grace is enough, it's all you need, My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer , these limitations that cut me down to size- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! AND THE WEAKER I GET, THE STRONGER I BECOME." ( The Message, Emphasis mine)Having understood the neccessity of pain in the above experience of Paul; his ministry made great impact on millions of lives all over the world.
Pain in itself is not a welcomed visitor, but it is often a very vital component of change. And we are often too set in our ways to change by ourselves and so God has to sometimes introduce pain to free us from the bondage of stagnancy for our good.Consider that a visit to the dentist is not fun for anyone but if you must be rid of that hurtful toothache brought by your own action of absorbing sugary substances, then you must go through the ritual of having that tooth pulled out and that is P-A-I-N-F-U-L!!! trust me. I made a lot of visits to my dentist.In the end I felt well and learned better dental hygiene that preserved the rest of my teeth.
In our daily lives, we have piled up a lot of spiritual garbage that is causing all sorts of disharmony in our lives and relationships. How do we get rid of them. Ooops, you won't like it but pain is involved. Like the rotten tooth, do we leave you with it or do we cause you to go through some measure of pain and get rid of it as well as learn the right lessons.I know that in my life , God has been walking me through change that involved painful adjustments. It is not fun but the results are amazing and wonderful. Lots of times The Holy Spirit reveals layers of garbage that I was not even conscious of in this process of change.But I have also seen a huge amount of the GRACE of GOD that has held me together. I look back at past experiences of pain and I realise the tremendous amount of GOD's LOVE. This was the process that brought me into the Experience of GOD'S PERFECT LOVE ( See my note on the gift of restoration)
In the midst of my backpain, I determined to face this challenge with a renewed mindset and not to quit. I created confessions of life from the Word, held on to my mindset of victory in Christ, scriptures ministered to me from Isaiah53v5 to John 16v33. I took steps of going about my daily tasks in the midst of the pain. I didn't quit on my walk exercise even though I cut down on the distance. I often was a sorry sight to behold in my bodily movements but I DIDN'T QUIT.There were times of temptation to give up and declare a loss on my healing but I hung in there. The result was that I came through the threshold of pain and gained my victory of healing And unlike in the past, I didn't grumble, mumble or plead to God to take it away. I did what God expected of me- HANG in there and experience the victory. It gave me the boldness to confront my fears.I am back in full health but with that and daily experiences I am learning to trust in God wholly and not in myself or in others.
So when I read the homily, It was a joyful confirmation that life can be conquered even in the midst of pain. Daily in the challenges before me, these experiences are what I take with me on my journey of change.I am no longer CHALLENGEPHOBIC. I know, understand and have learnt the valuable experience that pain is neccessary and indeed sometimes a component of change.It's a whole new ballgame for me. Whatever may be your life's challenges( good or bad) your desire for it's accomplishments may often involve some measure of discomfort,.Am I asking you to seek for pain?God forbid! But When you want change and some measure of pain is involved , before you holler to heaven for the angels, STOP!LOOK! and LISTEN! That may be God's wakeup call for you in that situation just like symptons are an indication that something is wrong with our bodily system. Brace up for it and understand that GOD is there to walk you through the process of change. LEAN ON HIM AND HIM ALONE.
Recently, while meditating on the homily in my church's Nutshell bulletin titled the Gain in Pain, it made me realise how far I had come in the understanding of the neccessity of pain in achieving success in my life and indeed fulfilling God's plan and purpose.I recommend reading Nutshell for those of you who do not attend Covenant Christian Centre.It is of tremendous spiritual value.Simply go to insightsforliving.org.In a very uncanny way, the homilies have provided me with practical guidance at very crucial times of my life and at other times, gave encouragement and confirmation in times of uncertainty.
The neccesity of pain for change was brought home to me vividly about a month ago when I woke up one morning with a massive attack of backpain- the excruciating type that renders you helpless and in tears. That was my lot. But the thoughts and actions that I took that brought me through to my healing and into a new level of experience of spiritual truth is what I share with you.
Prior to recent and continious changes( I am undergoing a painful remodelling to bring me into God's plans and purposes)I was a CHALLENGEPHOBIC!!! yeah, you know the kind that does not want challenges beyond my comfort zone. I abhored anything that caused me some measure of pain, grumbled, murmured and in lots of cases APPEALED TO GOD to please let this cup pass me by.( sounds familiar? well you are in good company as Jesus also went through that same experience. But!!how did He handle it?) When my tears didn't move God and I came through it, I didn't learn the lessons because I was full of annoyance. What a waste.
However, through various teachings from church, books, people and my personal experiences, the Holy Spirit has been at work to changing my mindset. Slowly, steadily but surely I have come to understand the neccessity of pain for CHANGE.The word challenge, trials, problems, persecutions (and whatever name you give these painful experiences) took on a new meaning and somehow in that process of my mind's renewal, I understood and experienced the scripture in James 1v2-4 " Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows it's true colours. so don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in anyway." ( The Message Bible) Then the Japanese understanding of the word "danger" as crisis and opportunity was finally stamped in my mind
Eureka!!! I finally GOT IT ( well I am also in good company with Apostle Paul)There is a threshold of pain for every successful task and desire. Such pain can be minimal or maximum depending on what level of task and your success expectation but it is THERE. You can't buy your way out of it and you can't delegate this. the pain is completely YOURS. One of my favourite scripture on this and very apt too is 2Corinthians 12v7-10" .....satan's angel did his best to get me down, what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that and then he told me, My grace is enough, it's all you need, My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer , these limitations that cut me down to size- abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! AND THE WEAKER I GET, THE STRONGER I BECOME." ( The Message, Emphasis mine)Having understood the neccessity of pain in the above experience of Paul; his ministry made great impact on millions of lives all over the world.
Pain in itself is not a welcomed visitor, but it is often a very vital component of change. And we are often too set in our ways to change by ourselves and so God has to sometimes introduce pain to free us from the bondage of stagnancy for our good.Consider that a visit to the dentist is not fun for anyone but if you must be rid of that hurtful toothache brought by your own action of absorbing sugary substances, then you must go through the ritual of having that tooth pulled out and that is P-A-I-N-F-U-L!!! trust me. I made a lot of visits to my dentist.In the end I felt well and learned better dental hygiene that preserved the rest of my teeth.
In our daily lives, we have piled up a lot of spiritual garbage that is causing all sorts of disharmony in our lives and relationships. How do we get rid of them. Ooops, you won't like it but pain is involved. Like the rotten tooth, do we leave you with it or do we cause you to go through some measure of pain and get rid of it as well as learn the right lessons.I know that in my life , God has been walking me through change that involved painful adjustments. It is not fun but the results are amazing and wonderful. Lots of times The Holy Spirit reveals layers of garbage that I was not even conscious of in this process of change.But I have also seen a huge amount of the GRACE of GOD that has held me together. I look back at past experiences of pain and I realise the tremendous amount of GOD's LOVE. This was the process that brought me into the Experience of GOD'S PERFECT LOVE ( See my note on the gift of restoration)
In the midst of my backpain, I determined to face this challenge with a renewed mindset and not to quit. I created confessions of life from the Word, held on to my mindset of victory in Christ, scriptures ministered to me from Isaiah53v5 to John 16v33. I took steps of going about my daily tasks in the midst of the pain. I didn't quit on my walk exercise even though I cut down on the distance. I often was a sorry sight to behold in my bodily movements but I DIDN'T QUIT.There were times of temptation to give up and declare a loss on my healing but I hung in there. The result was that I came through the threshold of pain and gained my victory of healing And unlike in the past, I didn't grumble, mumble or plead to God to take it away. I did what God expected of me- HANG in there and experience the victory. It gave me the boldness to confront my fears.I am back in full health but with that and daily experiences I am learning to trust in God wholly and not in myself or in others.
So when I read the homily, It was a joyful confirmation that life can be conquered even in the midst of pain. Daily in the challenges before me, these experiences are what I take with me on my journey of change.I am no longer CHALLENGEPHOBIC. I know, understand and have learnt the valuable experience that pain is neccessary and indeed sometimes a component of change.It's a whole new ballgame for me. Whatever may be your life's challenges( good or bad) your desire for it's accomplishments may often involve some measure of discomfort,.Am I asking you to seek for pain?God forbid! But When you want change and some measure of pain is involved , before you holler to heaven for the angels, STOP!LOOK! and LISTEN! That may be God's wakeup call for you in that situation just like symptons are an indication that something is wrong with our bodily system. Brace up for it and understand that GOD is there to walk you through the process of change. LEAN ON HIM AND HIM ALONE.
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