For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

2 Timothy 1:12

“Just relax through the pain.”

“Relax through the pain?” I thought to myself, “what an oxymoron. Who can relax through pain?”

I was suffering from something called a frozen shoulder. It happened one day when I was at recess with my students. Why I thought I had to do a cartwheel at the young age of 50 was beyond me. But I did it, and I stuck the landing.

However, I paid the price.

Now I could barely put my arm behind my back, or lift it above a 30-degree angle. I had been to the doctor several times, but I was making very little progress.

During the course of this inconvenient injury, I was attending a conference at a posh hotel in South Carolina. That’s when I met Michael—an angel who disguises himself as a massage therapist. I scheduled a massage.

Michael greeted me for my appointment and as protocol dictates, asked me the usual pre-massage questions. I saw a spark of interest ignite in his eyes when I told him I was there not to relax, but to seek healing for my injured arm. This was not just a typical bored pampered housewife appointment—I needed real help.

There is no progress without pain.

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As he began to go deep into the injured arm, Michael said, “Just relax through the pain.” I turned over this comment over in my mind. Relax through the pain. How do these concepts mesh? Is it possible to hurt yet rest? How does a person relax in pain? Michael worked as I breathed in and out.

Mind wandering. Muscles releasing. Stress draining.

Suddenly, I realized to my astonishment, I was relaxing through the pain. Why? How? One word—trust. I trusted Michael. He knew when to stop. He knew how to probe the injury to a depth that brought healing not harm. I did not have to protect myself because he was protecting me. But he didn’t protect me out of my healing. I could relax and let him work because I trusted him.

Same thing with God.

He asks us to trust him through the pain; to give our wounds into His healing hands and let Him go deep. He knows when to stop, and when we’ve had enough. Left on our own, we would protect ourselves right out of our healing. But God knows how to heal, not harm. We can relax and let Him work because He is trustworthy. Healing wrapped in pain. A salve of wholeness and hurt. Buried pain exposed, cut away and removed.

Pain then healing. Hurt then wholeness.

We can relax through the pain of life because we are safe in His hands.

Trust in Him.

Action Points:

1. What are you holding back? Is there a painful situation you need to turn over to God? Take a step of trust and tell Him as best as you know how at this moment, you are giving this hurt to Him to heal.
2. Envision yourself completely healed. What would be different? What would you finally dare to do because you are completely healed?
3. Take the first step. What is your first step? A move? A career change? The end of a relationship? Letting go of decades old guilt or shame? The first step can be scary but also very freeing and empowering!
4. Seek the help you need. Counselor, pastor,  doctor, mentor— whatever it takes, do it!
5. Cover everything in prayer. Ask God to give you His best and open wide your arms to receive it.

Life is sweet! Trust and relax.

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Ever since my daughter was a preschooler, she’s been able to memorize things so easily. She put this skill to good use when we enrolled her in Awana. Amber loved working on her Bible verses every week. It seemed as if the verses just effortlessly implanted themselves into her mind and heart and rolled off her tongue. Many of those verses stuck with her through the years, and now as an adult, they’ve become words of life that she is able to apply.

That’s why I love Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” When I stockpile God’s word in my heart, I can easily pull out the “ammunition” that I need at a moment’s notice.

If I’m feeling fearful, I can recall 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

If I am depressed I can recite Nehemiah 8 :10 “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

If I need wisdom I can meditate on James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

What are you in need of today? The Bible surely has something to say about it. God has given us a storehouse of supplies to draw upon everyday — and amazingly this stockpile is never depleted. The only thing that is limiting us is how often we go to it to replenish our own supplies. We need to read His words and memorize them so that we are fortified for our battle in this world.

Pray on!

We all know that we are an “instant” society; instant food, instant information, instant entertainment. But did you know we are to be ready in an “instant” to preach God’s Word? To do the study, Preach the Word, just click on the link!

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