Powerful Pain

C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, once wrote a book called The Problem with Pain. He had experienced the loss of his mother at a young age, a close army bunk mate, and his wife of four years to cancer. I don't necessarily want to address the process of grieving and suffering as he did, but offer some thoughts on pain's role in your life and the benefits of it.

First of all, emotional pain was introduced by Adam and Eve in the Garden. Before this, sin did not exist and man had complete communion with God. Man's soul and mind were shielded from the type of pain that sin incurs. Emotional pain is always the result of sin, others' sin or our own. Sometimes it is a combination of the two. Once our divine unity with God was broken, we were literally "separate" from Him. This distance is at the root of our reactions to pain.

Have you ever heard of "separation anxiety?" Well, the human race has a major case of it. We have been separated from the very One who can calm our anxiety and fears, and revive and invigorate us with His glorious love. The cross is the remedy. We have already been given everything we need for life and godliness. Our communion can be reunited and engaged once again. There are some basic spiritual practices which will help us regain this level of intimacy with our God. One being the way we deal with emotional pain.

When you experience emotional pain, what is your response? Is there a passage in your heart that leads you straight to your Father? Or do you worry, medicate, explode? Your reaction may be to rehearse the problem mentally, or try to figure things out on your own. God wants us to trust Him with our pain and our hearts. In fact, He invites us to.

If you bring Your heart in surrender to Him, it will become tender and malleable in the Spirit's hand. He will be able to have His way in your life. You can kick and scream in this process, but it doesn't profit you. (There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death.) The ways of God always bring forth life, understanding, and hope. If we do things His way, we will be transformed miraculously...looking like our daddy (Abba) more everyday and feeling stronger emotionally and spiritually. God will give us authority to overcome if we participate. He will turn that very pain into power! This power will be released in us and through us to others. Jesus allowed pain in His life to bring forth greater glory and joy.

Lord Jesus, help us to walk in your footsteps. You are our example. Use the pain in our life the way You want to. Your ways are higher than our ways, your thoughts higher than our thoughts. We bring all of our burdens and anxieties and pains to You today. You are the Lover of our souls, heal us, purify us, and make us clean. Help us to walk in all of Your ways so we will be a true representation of You in the earth. Thank You for Your great mercy! Thank You for the oil that heals our hearts. Make these passages in our hearts perfect in that we will come to you first when something happens. Release Your power in us. Blessings forever to you!

Are You On Fire?

Don't you love the fire of God's presence? If you haven't experienced it, it is unexplainable, unsearchable, undeniable. No other human experience holds a candle to it (no pun intended.) Jesus' eyes ARE flames of fire. Fire is purifying, cleansing, a mark of judgment, and thus can be used for His holy purposes.

When Isaiah realized he was a man of unclean lips (as we all are), he realized his need for the fire from the altar around the throne of God. He realized his human frailty and weakness after observing the holy and powerful worship around God's throne. He knew there was no way he could compare and worship like they did. He was real before the living God. He confessed his condition and what happened? God instantly responded with the answer from Heaven, a heavenly burning of the very physical attribute that represents worship, his lips. Worship is a "kiss" of man's lips upon God's. Mind to mind, spirit to spirit, giving our bodies as living sacrifices to Him.

As the men walked with Jesus on the Road to Emmaus, speaking with Him caused a FIRE to BURN inside of them. They didn't understand what was going on. Their spirits were stirred by the FIRE of His presence. That FIRE is the LOVE of Father God. The zeal of Jesus' heart was for the Father.

The whole reason He died was so that we would know THAT love. That love is introduced to us when we accept Jesus into our lives. After that, the understanding of THIS love increases more and more, your whole life is a journey deeper into the heart of God. There are no words to fully explain the extravagance, permeance, and power of HIS love. He is a consuming fire and He IS love. Don't you want to be burned up by Him? He makes His ministers FLAMES of FIRE.

I hear the Lord inviting us to:

"Place ME like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for LOVE is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It BURNS like BLAZING FIRE, like a mighty FLAME." (Song of Solomon 8:6) Send out an SOS to God now! Burn us up with Your holy FIRE!