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Let us discuss a subject many of us are at present dealing with, either emotionally or physically. That subject would be PAIN. This little four letter word has a multitude of definitions and even more applications. There is of course the predominant idea of physical discomfort, especially felt by someone injured or ill. This acute form of pain manifests itself through crying, groaning or yelling.
Another aspect of pain is the more chronic pain felt in a particular part of the body. This longstanding pain is many times described as an ache and many times is centered in the back or joints. Chronic pain is many times more disabling than acute pain for it breaks a person down through its relentless status. Both acute and chronic pain is the physical bodys way of expressing in no uncertain terms that there is something horribly wrong in the body.
Emotional pain is every bit as real and indicative of there being something wrong as physical pain. The pain of rejection hurts emotionally the same way dropping a piano on your foot would hurt physically. The difference is where the pain is located and how to deal with it. Emotional pain is much more difficult to treat than physical pain, and thus it presents problems to those attempting to provide relief.
Pain can also be used informally to describe a troublesome person or thing that is in the realm of being an annoyance. We all have known someone who is we end up calling a pain in the rear end. Of course this is a figure of speech equating a persons annoying tendencies to the very painful physical ailment known as a hemorrhoid. Although rarely a truly serious physical malady, hemorrhoids can and are extremely discomforting and painful. But above all, they are truly annoying. A less offensive term of course refers to someone being a pain in the neck.
A woman who is pregnant, as she nears the point of delivery starts experiencing painful spasms caused by the contraction of the uterus. These contractions are known as "labor pains" and it is my understanding (of course never having experienced such things) that these pains can and many times do define level 10 on the pain scale. Many women say that there is no pain that could come close to being more intense as labor pains. The one good thing about these pains are that they run in cycles and are not constant.
Pain can also be used as a verb in the sense of making somebody feel saddened or distressed. We use the phrase "it pains me to hear you say that". Words can and do inflict mental pain the same way various instruments are used to inflict physical pain. Someone wanting to hurt another person needs a vehicle by which pain can be inflicted. Sticks, stones are used to break bones and words are used to break down people emotionally and mentally.
Pain can present itself through aches, soreness, sting, burning, throbbing and sharpness. Emotional pain presents itself through grief, sorrow, anguish, aches, agony and heaviness. Physical pain is relieved through various medications which attempt to shut down pain receptors or to deaden or dull the pain. A dentist will inject medicine before doing work on teeth to deaden the nerve so it doesn t feel the pain.
Some pain is easily dealt with. A splinter causes intense localized pain which amazingly goes away when pulled out. A person feeling pain from hitting himself repeatedly with a hammer feels relief once he quits doing that which produces the pain. Many physical conditions which produce pain are relieved once the underlying issue is addressed via medication or lifestyle change.
I recall vividly the excruciating pain I had many years ago coming from a rotten gall bladder. Once it was surgically removed, the pain was removed with it.
My wife suffered through 8 hours of debilitating pain recently that upon going to the Chiropractor we found out was a rib out of place. He adjusted it, and the relentless day long pain was gone within minutes. When my wife gets a migraine headache, she takes a pill that amazingly does something and usually within an hour, she can go from blindfolds and ice to being perfectly fine. There is no greater euphoric feeling in this life then that provided by instant relief from excruciating pain.
Pain needs to be managed or it ends up managing you. Whether headaches, back aches or serious medical conditions; pain is the human bodys way of telling us something is wrong. Unlike a few years ago when pain was thought of as being psychological most of the time, the medical profession now understands and respects pain relief as something that MUST be dealt with and not passed off as just a patient complaining.
Jesus Christ suffered every pain we could experience in this life and paid the price for those pains through His atoning suffering and death. By His stripes we were healed. As we get older and the pains become more chronic and intense, many times we find ourselves in positions where prayer alone does not provide the results we need and want. I believe part of our healing involves calling into play the tools provided by the medical profession.
I believe God inspires people to find medicines that help HIM heal the body. I believe God works through physicians and other medical personnel to help HIM heal the body and mind. I do not believe it is a sign of weakness or compromise to seek medical help, especially for pain. I believe only a fool would put up with debilitating pain out of stubborn rejection of medication or professional help. God wants us, yes He NEEDS us free from pain to best serve Him and His people.
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