Do Not Lose Heart: A Devotional of Chronic Pain

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." [2nd Corinthians 4:16-20]

"Take two aspirin and call me in the morning." This commercial little mantra has often been spoken as a way of sympathy for people who are in physical pain. For people who suffer day in and day out with chronic pain, however, such trite comments hurt.

I have suffered from migraines and hypoglycemia since I was six years old. Two herniated discs that called for two major back surgeries, a bulging disc, intense muscle spasms and degenerative disc disease, and severe osteoarthritis in my left knee and all throughout my spinal column -- all that plus fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome keep me more than humble. Physical issues make everyday life just plain hard. I pray sometimes for God to heal me -- so I can sit at the computer and not have my knee in excruciating pain, so I can write and encourage others in His name. Just as Paul had his thorn in the flesh, people like myself -- sufferers of chronic pain -- have to deal with so much just to make it through the day. Every day is a struggle.

As much as my body hurts, the pain draws me closer to reading the Word and praying to God. Though my body is in bad need of an overhaul, it is no small joy to know that an Upgrade will happen one day. Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians, "Therefore do not lose heart." For people who have accepted Christ as Savior, they have no cause to lose heart, though they have mountains of prescriptions on the countertop and doctor visits every other week. Those Christians do not lose heart, for these broken-down bodies are only rental units. There will be a time when we get to trade them in for a Christ-built Resurrection Body, empty of arthritis, migraines, multiple sclerosis, cancer and depression.

But we can have a bit of the Kingdom here. Despite the hurdles chronic pain can daily through our way, for Christians, there is hope and witness here. Non-Christians watch us closely -- much like Job's friends and wife did. "Curse God and die," they said. When Christians, who have the mind of Christ, live as though they are already test-driving the Resurrection Body, filled with a deep and irrepressible joy that can only come from a relationship with Christ -- they become powerful testimonies that chronic pain is "achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

Second Corinthians 1:3 states, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." This comfort God provides may come in the form of a get-well card, or a meal provided by a friend -- but it is so much more than that. God IS the Comfort. When we turn our eyes away from the pain and dive into His Word, when we go to Him in prayer for others, when we worship Him in gratitude and love -- He reveals Himself to be much more than the Provider of Comfort. He IS the Comfort.

So what do we fix our eyes on that is unseen? That is Jesus Christ, presenting us with a Resurrection Body, to be able to worship Him on bended knees that don't crack and pop with shooting pain. We fix our eyes on Jesus. We deal with the pain but don't dwell on the pain and we are not defined by the pain. We are defined by Jesus Christ. Who we are in Him is so much more than our earthly bodies can provide.

These are but temporary housing units, shells of what will be received. God promises us as much. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future [Jeremiah 29:11]. The bodies He has planned for us in eternity are so much better than what we can even imagine. Our role, then, until Jesus calls us home, is to not lose heart, to keep our eyes focused on Him, and to live as walking testimonies to His glory, power and comfort.

Peace.

(c) 2012 Terrie McKee