Living With Pain

MY MOTHER LIKED TO TAKE CREDIT for my athletic kids, because, as she claimed, “Athletic genes run in our family.” Her father qualified for the Olympics in track. Mom was nicknamed “Speedy.” My father excelled in football and basketball. So why can’t I jump high enough to try out for cheerleading, and why does my leg always hurt? I wondered as I was growing up.

Years later, doctors offered no solution for the nearly unbearable pain I felt during five pregnancies and, later, my difficulty in walking. Multiple X-rays revealed no issue other than noticeable varicose veins. Doctors probably thought I was a hypochondriac. I tried not to bring up the increasing pain, but my friend and assistant at the time cared enough to make an appointment with a chiropractor in our church and insist I keep it.

The doctor prayed for wisdom and was the first to discern that my hip could be the problem. No one had ever thought to X-ray the hip before. He was able to see the right spot for the first time, and he sternly warned me, “Pam, you need your hip replaced, and you need it done NOW!”

Once I knew the issue, I prayed for the right doctor to replace my hip. The first six people I asked for a recommendation named the same doctor, and I immediately made an appointment with him. Although he agreed about the urgency of my hip replacement, his schedule was too full to perform my surgery. I’m not normally pushy, but the situation seemed to call for a little push.

“But I prayed for the best doctor to replace my hip, and that doctor is you! Can you please fit me in?” I pleaded.

He looked at his appointment book again, talked to his nurse, and then responded, “Surgery is scheduled for early Friday morning before my other surgeries.” I was so grateful and told him so. I knew the Lord was involved.

What I didn’t know is why my surgery would require this doctor’s expertise—and just in time. When I woke up from the long, complicated surgery, my husband was standing beside my bed. With tears in his eyes, Bob relayed that I had been only days away from being crippled for life. “Your pelvic bone was almost severed, and the doctor rebuilt it with the bone he removed from your hip. Evidently you were born with a displaced hip.”

Do you ever feel like no one comprehends your pain? Who cares when and why we hurt? Who is concerned when we can’t figure out what to do next? Who’s looking out for us and listening to our prayers? Who has the perfect plan and grants grace for the challenges? Who has our back, our front, and even our hips? Only our heavenly Father.

The gospels are filled with stories of Jesus’ compassion for people in pain. He gave His disciples the power to heal the sick (see Luke 9:1). He healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, even though it angered the Pharisees (see Mark 3:1-5). He healed the Roman centurion’s servant (see Luke 7:2-9). Jesus understands pain. He was beaten, scourged, and left to die on a wooden cross. And to think He suffered that pain for you and me! He died in our place for our sins.

The Lord has compassion for us in our pain. Talk to Him honestly about yours. He doesn’t always choose to heal us this side of heaven, but I’m so very thankful that He worked through my skilled, compassionate doctor in answer to my prayers. When I was still groggy following surgery, my first words to my husband were, “I have no more pain.” Bob was overjoyed about my successful surgery, but he is resigned to wait until heaven for his new body that will be free from the escalating pain of Parkinson’s. He believes God will give him endurance to live with pain until the day when he will see the Lord and all of his suffering will end.

As long as we live, we will be subjected to pain-inducing issues. But even if there isn’t a pill to relieve your pain, there is spiritual encouragement. We have a Savior who endured the worst possible physical, emotional, and spiritual pain on the cross. He guarantees that even if He does not heal us here on earth, we can look forward to a pain-free body for all eternity! Revelation 21:4 highlights this promise: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

REFLECTION

What pain are you experiencing? Does it feel as if no one understands? Thank God that He knows the pain you are going through and will comfort you. Meditate on the verses mentioned above, and remember that one day you will be free from pain.