23 Feb What do I do when it hurts?
No person is immune to pain, rejection or tragic news, however, our response determines whether we are headed down “healing street” or down “bitterness cul-de-sac”. A lover of God has no fear of bad news,
He is not afraid of bad news. His heart remains secure, full of confidence in the Lord – Psalms 112:7 GW.
However, we tend to forget the previous verse and many others when pain, rejection or bad news come knocking on our doors.
It was 06H56 when I received a call from a nurse of the hospital where my 26-year-old little sister was hospitalised, informing me that she passed away at 03H45 that morning, she had covid. My little sister had an army of intercessors praying for her recovery (day and night), even the night she passed away I was awake, praying for her, declaring healing, declaring the power of the blood of Jesus over her life and commanding the spirit of death to Passover and also crying for mercy, but she died anyway.
The wound was so deep that, for a week I could not pray any further than “Lord I love you so much” or “Father I am nothing without you” sometimes “Father please send strength”. The pain created such a deep void that I realised it could only be filled with healing, through prayer.
We ought to keep on praying even in the midst of either great pain, blown-out-of-proportion-storm or anything which knocks us out of balance because prayer re-ignites our trust in God making us a formidable force.
Those who trust in the Lord are as unshakable, as unmovable as mighty Mount Zion! – Psalms 125:1 TPT.
I remembered Job and his wife (Job 1), their story replayed in my mind like it was a documentary. Both were hurting, after being hit by similar calamities, however, Job chose to heal and continue to trust in God whereas his wife chose bitterness. The conclusion that Job’s wife came to was “forget about your integrity, curse God and be done with it”, to which Job responded, “stop talking like an empty-headed fool, the Sovereignty of God remains unquestionable even in the midst of one calamity after another”. Emotional pain, if not dealt with in time creates a void that will draw a person deeper and deeper into despair until depression or worst suicide.
Surrender to God, Pray and listen
I have learnt that times of hurt or pain are not for retaliation but rather are for surrendering. We do not go down in despair, but we go low and surrender to God, praying and that the void pain creates is filled daily when we acknowledge just how much God loves us. So when it hurts, pray, even if it is only four words – like my prayers – and then listen. Pray and listen because healing comes when we are at rest and rest comes when we listen to what God says because His promises are yes and amen. When we listen, we will not only focus on the refining purpose of pain, but also on repurposing, where God births new ministries or missions in us.
Fix your eyes on the Author
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame – Psalms 34:5 NIV
Looking to God is a sign of dependence and it has the power to silence your fear, comfort you when you hurt and heal your wounds or brokenness. When we pour our troubled soul to God we exchange our fears, insecurities, and troubles to radiate with His joy, love, strength, peace and power. And everything with a sting to hurt us becomes less aggressive. Pain, rejection or tragic news cease to be an obstacle, to some, because we heal differently. Become a tunnel where you are able to live your everyday life through it noticing the light at the end. When we look up to Him, the giants we are facing begin to fade, fear is replaced by courage, wounds heal and life continues.
I am an aspiring author, I love women empowerment and I believe that an empowered Christian is an unstoppable force. I am the founder, editor and layout designer of Breakthrough Newsletter, a free quarterly publication with the vision of ‘Awakening the bride of Christ to purpose’
No Comments