Weaknesses and Pain

This past week, for me, was filled with weakness and pain. For a while I experienced fever and chills and body aches. I tested negative for COVID. I do not like pain, and I do not like feeling weak. When pain is chronic and lasts awhile, it saps all your energy. When you feel weak and helpless, you are at the mercy of others helping you. There seems to be nothing good about weakness and pain. However, this past week’s experience forced me to go deeper into my own spiritual life. Let me share with you some simple but powerful truths that were impressed upon my heart by God’s Spirit.

First, loss of control. I, like many of you, may get to the point where your days and weeks hum along where you get many things done. You see your plans accomplished. People are communicated with. Events are attended. Google calendar events and tasks get checked off one by one. This feeling of accomplishment feels good. Then, you get knocked out of the saddle. It reminds me of my childhood when I fell from my grandfather’s horse and hit the ground. The wind was knocked out of me. I remember the struggle of not being able to breathe!

One thing that seems pretty clear to me is that my spiritual growth is in direct correlation to my willingness and desire to live by the understanding that I am not in control. Submission, acceptance, and humility all come into the picture here.

Second, fear. John, the aged apostle, reminds us that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). There was the waiting period to see what the COVID tests would reveal. I was in a time of waiting that I realized was tinctured by fear. Probably more than any time in my lifetime, during this last year and a half since the pandemic, I have seen and heard expressions of fear in the public arena as never before. Fear of the unknown can be quite debilitating. We always seem to think the worst, and we forget that faith and love are stronger than fear.

Third, vulnerability. I do not like being put in a vulnerable position. This means I have to admit my weaknesses. I like being strong. But spiritual strength and maturity do not go hand in hand with personal strength and ability. We have swallowed hook, line, and sinker the falsehood that our worth is based on our strength and ability to perform and do. The apostle Paul knew all about weakness and vulnerability. When he was in the midst of agonizing with his “thorn in the flesh,” and he wanted God to get rid of it, here is the message he was given:

“But God said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Fourth, identification. It is through my own pain and suffering that I can identify with Christ’s suffering. As much as we may hate to admit it, our embracing of pain and suffering, and our willingness to be open to its shaping and molding power says something about our spiritual maturity. This means I accept pain and suffering as a part of this world. As much as I try to escape, delay, avoid, or deny it, pain and suffering are still here. They will never go away until this world passes away. The apostle Peter expressed it this way to encourage Christians of his day:

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12, 13).

 

Though my own past week was filled with “pain and weakness,” it allowed me to go deeper into the spiritual life. Consequently, God’s Spirit made it clear to me that four simple yet powerful truths were at work in my life: loss of control, fear, vulnerability, and identification. These realities and lessons learned also gave me insights into the spiritual health of the congregation, and the continued growth and spiritual health of Christian leadership. Next week, I will write on these two aspects of application.

May God bless you richly and abundantly.

Grace, mercy, and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ,
In Christian love,
Curtis