Then the man named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. Genesis 3:20
Within life there is a source of perpetual hope. While life is contested in so many ways, life is itself irrepressible. The circle of birth, life and death endlessly repeats providing chapter upon chapter of the invincible nature of the human spirit.
Prayer opens the window through which life floods in. Many have testified over the years to the presence of God born of prayer when in the most desperate of circumstances. It wasn’t the circumstances that changed, but the individual’s perspective of their circumstances.
Corrie Ten Boom, a great saint of God who endured Ravensbrück concentration camp, reminds us, ‘You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have’. Of course, who wants to reach the end of themselves to discover this truth? Good news! We never go in search of such experiences, yet if called upon to face them we are called upon to look for life amidst the pain.
Birth pangs accompany the delivery of every new life into this world. The phrase has now become associated with the disorder and distress associated with major social change. No wonder then that our desire for the life of God might lead us through some painful challenges.
In my own experience, I vent at God, and others around me, because I, like you, do not enjoy pain. But this is pain that can bring me closer to God and enable me to realize the fullness of God in my life. In fact, it is only the outworking of the promise I made to God when surrendering my life into His care at conversion.
Pain forms an element along the way of discipleship. Indeed it’s worth reflecting that God was incarnate through human birth: Jesus who would reverse the curse of the Fall and restore all who choose to follow in His footsteps.
Something to Consider: Where is God’s life in the pain of your experience, both past and present?
An Action to Take: Journal your experience of pain in following Jesus at every step. It will become a testimony of God’s grace.
A Prayer to Make: ‘Lord, help me to hold everything in my hands lightly. I invite you to prise my fingers open whenever necessary.’
Photo by mostafa meraji on Unsplash
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