I had a filling replaced today. And I don’t like pain. So I was glad when the dentist used a topical anesthetic to blunt the sting of the needle before the real pain killing stuff! I can’t eat anything yet and the dull ache in my head is making it a little difficult to concentrate.
Does anyone really like pain? I remember the one time that I spanked my oldest daughter when she was young. She had openly defied her mother and I and knew the consequence of such direct disobedience. And she started crying before my hand tapped (and it really was a tap) her thick, diaper-padded bottom! And it was a bit humorous, that she would cry before the ‘pain’ was inflicted. Yet her crying matched my response to the prospect of pain at the dentist quite similarly.
This is an odd thing. Pain is painful and finding healing from the pain – is painful! The toothache hurt and so did the remedy. My daughter anticipated her bottom a bit sore but would have realized greater pain as an adult knowing only parenting without loving boundaries! Is it possible that pain whether inflicted or chosen can cause us to grow in character?
As we experience pain in life here is the reassurance for those who follow Jesus, the Suffering Servant: In times of our deepest pain, God can provide comfort adequate with the suffering. As another has said, ‘Jesus will go through our pain with us.’ May our pain encourage us to grow deeper in our relationship with this One who knows and understands!
- Steve Brubaker, Residential Ministries
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