Love and Pain

We all will face mountains at some point in this life.

They may be huge, dark, impossible mountains reaching heights we cannot imagine climbing. Just the reality of what we will face is enough to sap our strength and tempt our hearts to faint with fear.

Jesus whispers . . .

Fear not for I am with you,

I will be with you when the waters rise.

I remember how I viewed the literal mountains in our land of hard . . . a scenic destination for many . . . seeking rest, restoration, and fun in the outdoors. Leisure wasn’t what brought us there. Our first trip was to do one of the hardest things we had ever done and it would only get harder in the months to come. Our family was in crisis, surrounded by overwhelming circumstances. I saw no beauty in the land. My surroundings were huge mountains of fear, grief, and anxiety . . . all I could see was that our lives would never be the same. Life as we knew it had changed. Everything we faced looked impossible.

Yet, God was with us. Nothing is too hard for God. What is impossible with men, is possible with God. If He had allowed this hard place in our lives, there must be purpose . . . maybe God was answering some BIG prayers in very unexpected ways.

Mountains are huge and monstrous while also majestic and beautiful.

I had to learn to see the beauty in my hard places and trust God’s ways of working things out with eternal purposes far beyond my understanding.

I’m still learning . . . still growing . . . still choosing to believe that God’s way is best . . . trusting God with the pain of the process.

Love is not always the removal of pain. The cross speaks of this most boldly. Here we are at Easter and I’m reminded that true love endured more pain than any of us can imagine. Because Jesus loves us, He chose to endure the pain of the cross.

But there was wonderful purpose in that pain. The horrible pain of the cross led way to great joy and abundant life because in laying down His life, Jesus defeated death and sin. Yet, from all human appearances it looked like all was lost . . . hope was gone . . . Jesus was dead.

Many of us can understand what that feels like. We’ve been there in our own lives facing the worst that could happen . . . our lives changed forever by circumstances out of our control.

But when history was experiencing it’s darkest moment ever and it appeared all was lost . . . Jesus rose from the grave. He not only rose from the grave, He left it.

In His humanness, Jesus gave His life to pay our sin debt . . . something we could never do for ourselves. He endured shame and great pain to give us the greatest gift we could ever receive . . . forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.

Pain is part of the process of becoming more like Jesus. God does wonderful things in our hearts when we learn to lean in to Him as we endure pain and grief. I am not saying this is an easy process . . . it certainly hasn’t been for me . . . I often fight waves of disappointment. There are days I’ve protested and complained. I often wonder why things have to be so hard and last so long. I don’t know why there are no answers right now. I do know I’ve prayed and continue to pray, knowing for certain God hears and sees me. I know that God is with me. I know that He is always faithful. In fact, when I stop and meditate on what God’s Word says about Himself and about myself . . . and how He works in mysterious ways . . . I find that my mindset is transformed. Then (and only then), can I be thankful for ALL that He has done and is doing in my life. There is great joy ahead!

My mountains of impossible have opened my eyes to see more of who Jesus is and how wonderfully He works to do things I can’t. My mountains have led me closer to Him . . . combating my deep need in times of despair (which have become experiences I wouldn’t trade because of how God has used my neediness to teach and grow me). I still battle fear and anxiety at times. When this happens, I must choose to recenter my heart and mind on what is true. I preach The Gospel to myself and it reminds me WHO I belong to and that HE will provide everything I need as I depend on Him.

I’m still learning . . . still growing . . . still choosing to believe . . . because there is always something going on . . . something I can’t do myself and my only hope is to look to Jesus for the help I need.

If you are facing the impossible, take heart! The Lord Almighty is the God of the impossible and He brings life to things that are dead.

Look to the cross friend! Remember the pain Jesus endured as you experience your own pain. Remember His love that was willing to pay the price for YOU. Remember that God is working, even when you don’t see Him and you don’t understand. Remember that pain has purpose.

Remember the Resurrection!

NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD. If you have chosen to trust God . . . been called to follow Him . . . to DO what He says . . . then KNOW He is with you and is faithful to His promises. You are His . . . you are held . . . rest as you abide in His provision and care. You are loved and seen.

He is Risen!

Monica and Chuck