ALL Things

When you are sitting there in the midst of pain that won't go away - unable to do things that you want to, struggling with wanting to be accepted, and all the other feelings that chronic pain brings; it is hard to see anything good ever coming from your situation.

In Romans 8:28 there is a verse that challenges the natural feelings that come with being in chronic pain: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." WOW! In talking about "all things" that God causes to work together for the good ... wouldn't this include pain and illness? He doesn't asy "some thing", or "things that are easy" .. but rather he saysL "ALL things". This verse should be engrained on the memory of every person who calls themselves a follower of Jesus! We are all (not just people with chronic pain) going to be faced with something that is hard. I have said this over and over again. But the Apostle Paul understood that ALL things - suffering, sickness, pain, good times, bad times, friendships, employment ... ALL things are in God's hands and God will work with those things to make them come together for the good for those who are His! We can't see the big picture but I think it is so important to remind ourselves of the fact that God CAN. And to remind ourselves and each other of the fact that God knows everything and that He knows what really is GOOD for each and every one of His children.

I am reminded of being a little child and wanting things that were probably not good for me - I often wanted candy, but my parents were dedicated to healthy eating - and so candy was a rare treat. Now, as a child I could have seen my parents not giving me candy as being mean - as causing suffering. But as an adult I now understand that candy as a child is very harmful on growing teeth. To this day I have never had a cavity! My parents saw the big picture - just like God does, and they gave me just what I needed for my GOOD - just like God does. As a child I once was bitten by a wild squirrel. I ran in with hand bleeding and I was crying - but my Momma took me directly to the doctor - who I knew would help me. However, when we got there the doctor immediately gave me a big shot and it hurt much worse than the squirrel bite. I had expected the doctor to be kind to me and not to add more pain to my suffering! But the doctor knew that the danger of me getting tetnus was very real - and that by causing pain for a moment would protect me from getting a dangerous infection. God is like that doctor - He causes pain in our lives and we often can't understand why. We want Him to just give us everything we want ... but then when He allows suffering or even causes suffering we don't understand. But God knows what the future holds - He knows what we don't --- He sees the big picture.

I for one am determined to trust Him even when He allows pain - because just like my parents, and that doctor - He sees the big picture and He alone truely knows what is GOOD for me.