The following is a quote from the International Standard Bible encyclopaedia (ISBE):
Pain
pān (חוּל, ḥūl, חיל, ḥı̄l, חבל, ḥēbhel, חלה, ḥālāh, חלחלה, ḥalḥālāh, כּאב, kā’–ēbh, כּאב, ke‘ēbh, מצר, mēcar, מכאב, makh’ōbh, עמל, ‛āmāl, ציר, cı̄r; βασανίζω, basanı́zo, πόνος, pónos, ὠδίν, ōdı́n): These words signifying various forms of bodily or mental suffering are generally translated “pain”; 28 out of the 34 passages in which the word is used are in the poetical or prophetical books and refer to conditions of mental disquiet or dismay due to the punishment of personal or national sin.
Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines pain as “an uneasy sensation in animal bodies, of any degree from slight uneasiness to extreme distress or torture, proceeding from pressure, tension or spasm, separation of parts by violence, or any derangement of functions. Thus violent pressure or stretching of a limb gives pain; inflammation produces pain; wounds, bruises and incisions give pain”. It is also defined as “uneasiness of mind; disquietude; anxiety; solicitude for the future; grief, sorrow for the past…”
Pain the unwelcomed friend
Pain is something majority of us including myself do not like and will do everything to avoid. The question is what is its purpose? Surely it must have a purpose like everything else under the sun. Today’s post will try to unearth the purpose of a category of pain which I will classify as good pain.
Before the fall
It is my contention that before the fall of man in the garden, there was no such thing as pain because there was no need for its ministry or service to humanity. It was introduced with the fall but why
For Adam, pain was introduced in the form of sweat and toil as a consequence of his choosing the knowledge of good and evil instead of life. Prior to this time, man did not have to toil to eat or take care of his family. Likewise for the woman pain was introduced in the form of birth pangs as a consequence of her actions in getting her husband to partake of the knowledge of good and evil. But why did GOD introduce pain? Was it simply to punish and hurt man for disobeying GOD? Absolutely NOT! GOD is not vindictive at all.
It is my opinion that pain is GOD’s fail-safe mechanism. A fail-safe or fail-secure device is one that, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm, or at least a minimum of harm, to other devices or danger to personnel (Wikipedia, 2012-08-04). PAIN is that which he programmed into his perfect creation to turn it back to him should a failure in the system occur. Man messed up and if he was allowed to stay in the garden, he might have eaten the fruit of life which would have cemented us in a state of sin forever without any chance of salvation or freedom from this cancer. The repercussion would have been disastrous. So GOD removed us from the tree of life for only a short while and introduced pain to make us aware of our condition and its root cause. Pain was just a symptom of a greater problem [SIN] . The symptom is meant to help diagnose the problem so we can get appropriate help.
Pain is absent when we are in a perfect state. It only enters when there is a disturbance of GOD’s perfect order, in our bodies, souls or physical environment.
Pain, a symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality.
Dorland’s Medical Dictionary for Health Consumers (2007) defines a symptom as, “any subjective evidence of disease … a change in a patient’s condition indicative of some bodily or mental state”.
Pain as a symptom helps us diagnose dis-eases or uneasiness in our bodies, souls or spirits. Let’s take a physical example—a head ache. When we have one of these, many times we want to take a pill to get rid of the pain. BUT that is not necessarily the best course of immediate action. The pain is pointing to a dis-ease or dis-order or ab-normality in the body.
The head ache/pain has a purpose. It tells us that something is wrong in the perfect order within our body. The better course of action is to allow it to help us pinpoint the deeper problem of which it is merely a symptom. When we do this, we can solve a problem from the root and not just be flailing at the leaves in an attempt to heal the tree of some internal issues. SO though not enjoyable, pain can sometimes be of immense help like an early warring mechanism which enables us to catch a problem before it progresses too far.
Mentally speaking, if we have hurt a friend or family member by our harsh behavior, in many cases, our conscience convicts us and we feel godly sorrow. This is one manifestation of mental pain. What is its purpose? What is the purpose of Godly sorrow?
2Co 7:10-11 Amplified Bible For godly grief and the pain, God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death]. (11) For [you can look back now and] observe what this same godly sorrow has done for you and has produced in you: what eagerness and earnest care to explain and clear yourselves [of all complicity in the condoning of incest], what indignation [at the sin], what alarm, what yearning, what zeal [to do justice to all concerned], what readiness to mete out punishment [to the offender]! At every point you have proved yourselves cleared and guiltless in the matter. [I Cor. 5.]
Godly sorrow or pain has a purpose. It produces repentance in us that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil. Put defiantly mental pain like physical pain also serves as a symptom that can help us remedy a greater problem before it progresses too far. Repentance means simply that we have lost our way or that there is disorder in our physical, mental or spiritual relationship with fellow men or with GOD. Pain reminds us or shows us that there is a problem and it shows us our need for repentance. Repentance then is restoring that order or the peace by either apologizing to our friend whom we hurt or to GOD if we have displeased him.
What the apostle calls worldly pain or grief on the other hand is not helpful. Godly sorrow leads to repentance but world sorrow is deadly. It leads to condemnation and depression all of which we have been delivered from through Jesus Christ.
Pain as a transitionary phase
Let’s come back to the physical realm. Many of you dear readers are used to exercising in one way or the other. I recently started to exercise after years of being out of “it”. Guess what is happening to my body as I write this. I feel uneasy or dis-ease in my body. I have pain in the parts of my body that bore the brunt of the exercise. IS this pain bad? Absolutely not!
My muscles are undergoing stress and little tears which would soon heal and guess what will happen when they heal? I will be stronger and fitter. In this case, the pain though uneasy is welcome ads a means to my expected end.
Pain signalling the arrival of the new
Women travail in birth pangs before birthing the new. Likewise in prayer sometimes, we travail before birthing the new.
Birth pangs were part of the curse. Jesus became our curse on the tree and hence birth pangs and toil before eating is no longer necessary. This is what it means to enter the REST of GOD. Nevertheless, nature teaches us that the darkest hour of the night is just before the break of dawn. The birthing of a new day or dawn is preceded by deep darkness or pain sometimes.
Ours should not be to fight all pain but to discern whether it is has a purpose or not. If it is just worldly pain, we can fight it but if it’s godly, let’s discern its purpose and allow it to do its job in us.
Pain is sometimes indicative of sonship J
Heb 12:6-13
(6) For the Lord corrects and disciplines
everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
(7) You must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not [thus] train and correct and discipline?
(8) Now if you are exempt from correction and left without discipline in which all [of God’s children] share, then you are illegitimate offspring and not true sons [at all]. [Prov. 3:11, 12.]
(9) Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded [to them] and respected [them for training us]. Shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so [truly] live?
(10) For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for only a short period of time and chastised us as seemed proper and good to them; but He disciplines us for our certain good, that we may become sharers in His own holiness.
(11) For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
(12) So then, brace up and reinvigorate and set right your slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees, [Isa. 35:3.]
(13) And cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.
GOD chastens, corrects, disciplines and even scourges everyone whom He loves. The absence of his discipline in our lives makes us illegitimate. I used to dislike this portion of scripture because I did not understand that humanity had truly missed it, gone off track from the original plan and order of GOD hence need to be realigned to his will and nature.
This realignment is uneasy and unpleasant because it goes against our natural disposition which is in line with the fall. In a way, it’s a going against the grain. We are soo used to the wrong way which does not benefit us. GOD’s discipline makes us disciples of the better Way, Truth and life. IN verse 9 we see that the end of the correction and discipline is life i.e. that we may experience Zoe or life, God’s king of life superior to mere animal life.
GOD chastens, corrects and disciplines, punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes so that they might LIVE. This is love.
If a person desires to be conformed to the nature of GOD and to be a partaker in the divine nature, he or she would invite the discipline of GOD and not run from it. This is why King David said,
Psa 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: (24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
David wanted to be more and more like GOD and to walk in GOD’s way. He invited GOD to search him, try him and lead him. These are the words of a man with understanding with a heart for GOD and a heart for positive change. He wanted GOD to examine him, purify him and set him on the right course in life. What a mindset!
David asked to be tried. How is silver or gold tried? By being introduced into fire or into the furnace. The fire removes the impurities or dross and purifies the gold. Trying purifies…
Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
David wanted to be a son. As the writer of Hebrews puts it, we must submit to and endure [correction] for discipline; God is dealing with us as with sons when he disciplines or tries us to line up with HIS nature and way.
One thing to bear in mind is GOD is NOT oblivious to the uneasiness of pain or discipline. He knows full well that, for the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness–in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].
Additionally GOD recognizes that pain or sorrow or discipline can de-motivate us so in verse 12, he encourages us to brace up and reinvigorate and set right our slackened and weakened and drooping hands and strengthen your feeble and palsied and tottering knees so we can cut through and make firm and plain and smooth, straight paths for your feet [yes, make them safe and upright and happy paths that go in the right direction], so that the lame and halting [limbs] may not be put out of joint, but rather may be cured.
Pain and weakness
Pain causes us to be weak and sometimes it’s good to be weak so GOD can be strong in us.
Jacob learnt this. This is how he got his name changed to Israel i.e. Prince with GOD. In Gen 32 he fought with GOD to have his destiny changed. He wanted to be better. He wanted GOD’s blessing. The result is he ended up with some discomfort or pain around his thigh as he struggled with GOD for change. Eventually the pain or hurt disappeared, and Jacob was blessed. Paul went through a similar experience where he was taught the necessity of weakness in relation to GOD.
2Co 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for
my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Most of us have not yet learned to glory in our weaknesses. We rather take glory in our accomplishments and strengths. There is strength to be found in being weak in relation to GOD and allowing Him to have his place in our lives. I have learned through pain that sometimes when we do not understand it all, we should simply be content for the moment to trust in the strength of GOD even when things do not seem to go our way. Let’s simply allow him to be GOD and be content to be his children.
Finally, the greatest champion of all time is undoubtedly Jesus Christ. How did he win the greatest battle of all time? Was it by running away from pain and discomfort or running towards it? He embraced it. He embraced the soo called weakness of the cross and in exchange gave us all Zoe. For an acorn seed to become a might tree, it must first fall to the ground, go through a process of dying and decomposition before germination and multiplication.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
This is how Jesus won the greatest battle of all time—through seeming weakness in the form of subjecting himself to the wickedness of his own creation and eventually laying down his life. GOD power was made perfect in Jesus’ weakness yielding a bountiful harvest for all eternity.
2Co 13:4 For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Pain does make us weak. But not all weakness is bad. Godly weakness is something to be gloried in because in it, GOD’s power is made strong to our benefit.
GOD bless you!
