All of us struggle and no one is exempt. Bad things happen to good people. A phone call, a hard conversation or a heartbreaking doctor’s report. None of us can escape pain no matter how hard we try. Pain is inevitable, misery is an option.
We can run from our pain or fight it or become cynical and detached. As Simon and Garfunkle sang,
“I touch no one and no one touches me. I am rock and rock feels no pain and an island never cries.” Many people won’t admit it to themselves, but they have resigned themselves to, “Is this all I get? I guess this is the best there is.”
We all struggle with something
Whether it’s physical or emotional pain, the pain of failure or a broken relationship, or the pain of honesty. People are struggling to just to make it through the day. Some pretend that everything’s okay when their dying inside. They’re not trying to fool themselves, but maybe they’re trying to fool everyone else. Maybe they think inside that they don’t measure up or that what they’re struggling with is so embarrassing it would not be worthy of someone’s time.
Could it be that we have created a false image of what it means to be a spiritually mature person? As if, being a spiritually mature you don’t ever get depressed, worried or disappointed. So, many put on a happy face. Image management can become exhausting and it’s not very fun either. Far too many buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t even know.
Some of us have been around some older folk when the filters come off and they’re not trying to impress anyone anymore. That can be uncomfortable or refreshing. We’re all human and we all drop the ball.
Everything doesn’t have to have a positive spin
We don’t have to manufacture positive emotions to assess our lives. God created us with a yearning for belonging and acceptance. When we understand and experience God’s unconditional love and acceptance we can begin working from acceptance and not for acceptance. As Augustine said, “You have made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its’ rest in You.”
When we’ve been deeply wounded it’s understandable to try to protect our hearts by isolating ourselves. When we are in our deepest struggle we need to stop running away from people. Do you have someone you can run to? We all need people that when we mess up, they run to pick us up. They need to know we need help. It is in community that God brings His greatest healing. We need people who will believe in us and fight for us.
God doesn’t waste your pain
Nothing needs to be wasted on the editing room floor of your life. God can use your pain. If you can be honest and learn how to embrace your pain it can be a gift to you and for others. Since pain is inescapable ask God how He can use your pain to help others.
The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:4
