I’ve only conducted seven podcast episodes to date, and yet I learn something new about myself with each and every one. That old saying, we’re much more alike than not … I see it reverberated over and over in these conversations.
Granted, the weight and intensity of a personal experience can be extremely different, but I’m reminded why we shouldn’t judge others and why we should extend ourselves to help whenever we can. It’s because life is so intricately woven together. I get tiny glimpses into how that’s so with each person I interview.
Marjorie Wingert transitioned into blindness from the age of 16 to her current age of early 40’s. Her physical blindness reminded me that I am blind in many areas of my life. I have a spiritual blindness, and I experience it at times when my heart is deceitful, I lack self-control, I’m impatient, or don’t ask the Lord for wisdom. These mindsets or heart conditions will cost me dearly.
Meiche Poe, struggling with mental illness and attempted suicide, had me thinking of when I experience spiritual attacks by Satan. A relentless enemy, these attacks are well planned and purposeful. While my experiences are not a result of a chemical imbalance, the oppression I experience gives me a taste of the anxiety and fear that wants to consume the mind and destroy life.
Sandra Julian Barker shared how a dearly loved nephew murdered her beloved brother and sister-in-law. 1 John 3:15 says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer…” When I, in self-righteousness, come against a person, I’ve decided that I am God. This is not a simple “I hate this food or that place,” this is the type of hate that passes judgement, renders verdicts, and the desire to make sure the person gets what they deserve. This hate finds me making decisions and taking action that only God has authority to do so.
Dyan Lollis, who was falsely accused and found guilty, spent eight months in federal prison. Like Dyan experienced, people have put labels on me, and I have put labels on myself. There have been times of misunderstanding that have caused me sleepless nights, and I feel sure I have caused others the same.
Meredith Bunting lives with two chronic illnesses that have no cure and will never leave her, unless God moves His hand to heal her. These illnesses knot her up in pain and leave her paralyzed in bed, focused on each next breath. As for me, the sudden death of my husband saturated my heart in relentless, paralyzing chronic pain. I’m different in that, with time, the crushing weight of the loss has eased but if I didn’t take it God and process it through His heart then I would end up with a chronic pain that kept my heart and life paralyzed in knots.
Shelley Darabos’s husband was diagnosed with cancer. Seeing him brought twice to the brink of death put Shelley into a free fall until God showed up in a bathroom at the hospital. When my world was flipped upside down and I was ejected into a free fall, there was nowhere else to turn except to the One who could reach me in a place that had no walls, ceiling, or floor. But there are also things that can infect and eat at me like a cancer, resulting in the same slow death of the various aspects of my life if left it unchallenged by holding it up against who God is and what He has to say about who I am in Him.
Ann Shaw’s only child, a son, was born with a birth defect known as spina bifida. We see imperfection, but God sees perfection. He’s sent us an opportunity to get to know Him on a deeper, more intimate level. What He will reveal in our specific opportunities are things we will never know unless we press into Him in the midst of our personal pain. Imperfection is transformed in our hearts when entrusted to God and defined by His value system.
Don’t let blindness, mental illness, suicide, murder, federal prison, chronic illness, cancer—or anything else—put distance between you and another person, because we are more alike than not. I’ll admit that, at times, I’m sad to know we’re more alike than not. But pain and suffering are also places to find encouragement, to know we’re not alone.
In these examples of physical manifestations of spiritual realities, I’m reminded that my value system is so incredibly small compared to Gods. My heart’s cry is that this revelation will continually give me a deeply rooted passion to learn to live from the extravagant overflow of heaven. To have the courage and equipping to embrace the beauty and the pain woven together in such a way that I find the immense value of God’s steadfast presence in every fiery missile Satan deploys for my destruction.
So, when people ask me, “Have you ever seen your God do a miracle?” I can answer, “Yes, me.”
Self-Reflection
These questions are in no way a substitute for healthcare professionals or any level of professional counseling. I’m an advocate for taking care of oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. These questions reflect my heart, NOT my profession.
This questionnaire is an opportunity to journal your thoughts and feelings. It can serve as a launching pad on which to evaluate your heart condition as you understand it. My hope is that you will take the truths you discover about yourself and hold them up to the Light to evaluate them against who God says you are.
- List the various ways that you can identify with each one of the discussed afflictions:
- Blindness – unable to see something right in front of you:
- Mental Illness – spiritual attacks:
- Suicide – self harm:
- Murder – to be self-righteous:
- Falsely accused/imprisoned by emotions:
- Unrelenting Pain:
Take Action
Use God’s Word to take control over the traumas in your life. Whenever you feel terrorized by your thoughts take them captive by replacing them with the truth of God’s promises in His Word.
Here is a scripture for you to print, cut and carry with you and/or post in places where you will see it often. Ground yourself in God’s truths not Satan’s attacks. Encourage your heart and mind every time you are reminded of His great love for YOU!
Here is what God’s Word says about His unfailing, relentless, unending love for you:
“For nothing is impossible for God.” Luke 1:37 NIV
Translation: ABSOLUTELY. NOTHING. IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD! Let that rest on your heart today and every day. Meditate on His words of encouragement. Absolutely nothing seen or unseen, known or unknown, is impossible for God
Podcast Link Page: https://alifeofthrive.com/finding-god-in-our-pain-podcast/
