No pain, No gain

 A few weeks ago, God brought together the perfect storm of conviction for me and I began exercising again.  So far, I have worked out every day for just over two weeks.  Not much, I know, but it is a start.  While I am on the treadmill, I usually read, listen to sermons, or watch videos on RightNow Media.  This morning, I was reading Shepherding Women in Pain by Bev Hislop.  In my exercises after the treadmill, I was pondering the chapter I had just read, all while sweating and groaning as my muscles struggled to work.  The author had made a very good point about the Western view of pain.  We always look at pain as something to avoid.  Something to be fixed.  Something that is just plain wrong.  This viewpoint often leads to very unhealthy reactions to pain.  As I was feeling the pain in my workout, I realized that this is true, except in the gym.  Anyone who exercises will tell you "no pain, no gain."  We all know that if we don't suffer the pain of breaking our muscles down, they won't build back up stronger.  For some reason, we think this only applies to our physical self.  God beautifully integrates all our being - mind, soul, and body.  What is true for our bodies is true for our minds and our souls.  

Pain can be felt in the mind and the soul as well as in the body.  In our mind and soul, however, we don't want the pain, maybe because we don't recognize the gain.  Just like our muscles, we must be broken down to be built up stronger.  We must embrace our pain, work through it, and let God make us stronger.  As Beth Moore points out in A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place, we have to gather the provision God gives us to get through just like the Israelites had to gather the manna not to starve.  Growth takes work, whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual.  But what a gain!  We gain Christ.  We gain a closer relationship with the Father.  We gain peace and well-being that rests on our immovable, unshakable God rather than on our own fallible selves.  

So embrace the pain.  Work through it.  Move from asking "why did this happen?" to "how will You use this for Your glory, Lord?"  Will is be easy?  No way.  Will it be quick?  Most likely not.  Will you need someone to help you through?  Yes.  But you have to own it, seek the help, and realize that God doesn't allow pain without giving the gain from working through it.

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:3-5)