2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
I was expecting a quick, painless procedure in preparation for a spinal ablation on my back. But as I laid on the operating table, face down, and the nurse put two squeeze balls in my hands, I had second thoughts. Uh-oh! Ironically, the “pain management” process my doctor prescribed required a few painful steps along the way. But steps necessary to reach the goal of healing.
Kind of like spiritual growth. What “feels good” doesn’t always produce what “is good,” does it? So we who follow Jesus should not expect a get-out-of-pain-free pass. The call to die daily to our own will and embrace God’s will, in some circumstances, seems as painful as those needles piercing my back.
Paul admonished the Corinthians to do all they could to clean up their act. Get rid of everything that compromised their pursuit of holiness. God had given them promises of future reward, so let his assurances of forgiveness, unconditional love and eternal life, spur them on!
But sometimes the end goal gets vague when we find ourselves lost in a sea of pain. God knows that, so he sends us different kinds of divine aid until we reach the finish line.
During my procedure, I found great comfort in the kindness and sensitivity of the nurses. They showed interest in me as a person, not just a patient. They covered me with a warm blanket and afterwards, brought me coffee and Lorna Dune cookies! When I had to return for the second procedure, knowing kindness, coffee and Lorna Dunes awaited me, helped blunt the dread of pain.
You may not be in need of spiritual pain management right now. But God may be sending you to someone who does. To be his divine “pain manger.” It could be offering heart-felt prayer for a brother struggling with forgiveness. Or showing a sister how to find hope in God’s word. Maybe helping some see their need to repent or others to refuse the world’s standards of morality.
Pain in a fallen world is inevitable. So at some point, we all need to give or receive a little pain management. It begins when we trust God to transform the pain into something holy.