Pain Is a Bless, Not A Curse

By: Elias Bejjani*

Job 1/21: "And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great gift. The gift of life itself that He has endowed and entrusted to us. We MUST never ever underestimate, humiliate or defile this great and valuable Godly gift of life or try at any time to neglect or end it under any given circumstances. He who gave it to us, and He is the only one who takes it when ever He decides to do so. Our own life does not belong to us, but to Almighty God who gave it to us.

When we are facing any difficulty we MUST call on Him and He will come to our rescue. Matthew 7/7. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you"

God never forgets us, we are His beloved Children. He even comes to our help without us asking or calling on Him as he did with the widow whose her only son died (Luke 07/11-17). He felt her pain, anguish, great loss and sorrow. He touched her son's coffin and brought him back to life. Psalm 34/18: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit"

Let us take this below Biblical miracle as a marvelous example of God's unlimited and unconditional love to each and every one of us. Let us learn how much He cares even when we do not call for His help.
Luke 07/11-17: "Soon afterward Jesus went to a town named Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. Just as he arrived at the gate of the town, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a woman who was a widow, and a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart was filled with pity for her, and he said to her, Don't cry. Then he walked over and touched the coffin, and the men carrying it stopped. Jesus said, Young man! Get up, I tell you! The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They all were filled with fear and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us! they said; God has come to save his people! This news about Jesus went out through all the country and the surrounding territory."

Let us with no hesitation depend on His mercy and love when we are facing any kind of pain or hardship, no matter what and He will be constantly beside us. He will help us in ways and means that can never even be imagined or grasped by our human mind. God is so gracious let us leave all our burden within His Holy hands, carry His cross and follow Him all the way. "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11/28)

Meanwhile Jesus shares His pains and sufferings with those whom He loves so much. Many saints prayed and begged Him to make them sick and physically crippled in a bid to share His pains and sufferings. Both Saint Rita and Saint Rafka did so and God showered them with His graces, responded to their prayers and shared with them His sufferings and pains.

God is always with us. He hears, sees, feels and knows all what we say, do, and think. He is a loving, caring and forgiving father who never ever abandons us because we are His children. Accordingly we have to keep holding on to both faith and hope when are sick and encountering pain. How true is the saying: " He who depend on God shall never be disappointed". Romans 8/8: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us".

Pain for the believers is not a punishment or a sin, but a grace and a bless. Through pains and sufferings we share with Jesus some of what He Himself went through on the cross. We share His pain and His death so we can share His resurrection.

Saint Peter in his first letter (12,13,16,19) dwells on suffering in Christianity: "My dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful test you are suffering, as though something unusual were happening to you. Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed" "So then, those who suffer because it is God's will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise".

Pains and sufferings should not make us question God's existence, mercy, love or wisdom. On the contrary they are ought to purify and cleanse us, mind, body and spirit from all doubts, hesitations and fears so we can strengthen our faith and get closer to Him. Psalm 18/2: "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold".

Saint Peter teaches us to be strong, firm and resist. Let us with joy take on his advice.1 Peter 5/9-10: "Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you".

*Elias Bejjani
*Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
*Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
*Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com
*Mailing phoenicia group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Phoenicia/.