I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born, says the Lord.
Isaiah 66:9 NCV
Pain…I do not like it…I shy away from it…and pretty much avoid it at all costs. A year ago my son was shorter than me. And this past year he has been complaining of pain in his legs. You guessed it – he is now officially taller than me. Through his pain, a young man has been born. No longer my little cutie but now a young man who is taller than me, stronger and very handsome.
I think of painful events in my life and how they always came before something new. How almost 13 years ago, I was in the most painful labor of my life only to be rewarded by a beautiful baby boy who is now my taller, stronger and handsome son.
I think of how we spent over a year of our life building our dream home and place of ministry only to move away 9 months later wondering what good was going to come from it. Little did we see that a different ministry opportunity was opening up. Little did I know that I was going to learn more about who God was and how much He loved us and how He has us right in the palm of His hand.
I think of how Jesus spent the night in the Garden of Gethsemane crying in pain and anguish and feeling very alone and pleading for a way out of the cross He knew He was to endure. I think of how through His pain, new life was born for us. A better life…an eternal life in a place of perfection. A place where there will never be pain again.
I know there will be more pain in my life. That’s just the nature of how things are. My prayer is that I will not thrash…that I will not question…but that I will wait and trust and hope and know that my God will birth something new, and that something new will be beautiful. Not my will, Lord, but yours!
