Sunday, July 21, 2013

Pain


Pain is like a river. Though it can sway left and right, it always carries you down. Sure you can fight it, swim against the tide, conquer the impossible for a little while. But eventually you will get exhausted and end up going the same direction you would have gone in the first place- to bigger and greater waters...

Unfortunately pain is not a gentle river. You can't grab a canoe and gracefully row down and down. Pain isn't even a clean river. This river has sharp twists and turns, fish, algae, and dirt swirling about. It's a quick fall in some parts, and a shallow one in others. But one thing is for certain-those who endure it always arrive somewhere better.

But my hope for you this morning isn't simply to let you know that there's an end to your pain. After all some rivers are much longer than others, and who knows how long yours will be? But my comfort to you this morning is to let you know that you are not paddling alone- there are others who, though in different rivers, are also paddling and enduring. Though we may not be together in location, we are together in experience...and to me, it is a nice thought to know I am not alone.

And lastly, above all this, there's a mighty God, who in mercy just as great, got in your boat and He paddles with you. No, His promise isn't to take you out of the river to dry land. And no, His promise isn't to do all of the paddling alone. But He does make a much greater promise, and that is to be with you the whole way, to be some one you can talk to, some one you can confide in, some one you can trust. Through this pain, He will always prove Himself.