Friend Pain

The old saying goes “No pain, no gain.” I’m in my second week of working out at the gym. Over the last few days I have been using muscles that once sat comfortably on the couch. Today as I have gone about my normal work routine it is with a new friend: Pain.

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not looking for pity. If I wanted people to feel sorry for me then I would not have bothered going to the gym this morning. Most of us run from pain and seek comfort at any cost. I have chosen to embrace pain as a welcomed visitor, a new friend who will help me become a better me.

What is true for my physical body is also true for the real me. Will my spirit choose to satisfy the yearning of my flesh to eat drink and be happy at any cost, or will I obey God’s plan and purpose for me as His child to live each day just like Jesus?

• We do not enjoy being disciplined. It is painful . . . You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again.

Hebrews 12:11-12 NCV

Let’s be honest: we all like being “spiritual couch potatoes.” We make the mistake of thinking we can live on autopilot, but our spiritual life is just going through the motions. Spiritually our arms become feeble and our knees weak. Obedience to God’s word becomes the sin of complacency and compromise.

God awakens us from our spiritual slumber through the pain of discipline. God wants us to enjoy a “harvest of righteousness and peace,”* but it cannot be found through our pursuit of happiness. Lasting joy is found only as we embrace the pain making it our friend. Running from the pain won’t make it go away. Instead the pain will only intensify showing us our weakness - our sin.

I’m glad God does not want to leave me in my sin. I pray that the Lord will not let me sleep comfortably on the couch. Instead may I hear His call to “Wake up! Strengthen what remains”* As I wake up in the morning to make my way back to the gym may it be a reminder to also let pain be my friend spiritually. With God’s help I can live each day just like Jesus.

*Hebrews 12:11; Revelation 3:2 NIV