Don't Waste Your Pain

       "And the peace of God, which surpasses all 

understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Peace...what chronic pain sufferers want the most! Where do we get this peace? The world is looking for this peace everywhere, but nothing satisfies, nothing brings us comfort or peace like the Lord. Let's look deeper at this verse. 

In verse 6 we are told not to be anxious about anything but pray about everything with thankfulness. 

So the first step towards peace is prayer.

When we come to the Lord with thankfulness, even in our pain and suffering we demonstrate our trust in Him. I have a saying I like to think about when I pray. It's pretty simple...

Pray   your   thankfulness   that   you   may   realize   it.

When we pray to the Lord and our heart is thankful, we realize how much the Lord has graciously given us and it creates in us an abundance of joy because of how good God is...Even. In. Our. Pain.

Because of this first step of praying with a thankful heart we don't have to be anxious, and because of what the Lord has done in us, the Holy Spirit gives us peace. And this is not the peace the world offers...This peace surpasses all our understanding... No one outside of the family of God can ever explain the peace a believer experiences in the midst of our pain. The world SHOUTS at us to find a way out of the pain, to numb the pain, But nothing gives us that peace only God provides. And that peace guards our hearts and minds. What from? From ourselves. From our wicked, selfish attitude. The one that cries, "This isn't fair. I don't deserve this." You see, that peace we've been talking about replaces our selfish need to have it our way. This peace tells us God is in control and because of that I can face this pain. Glory to God!!! He knows what we need and we just need to be obedient to His Word. May you, today, experience this peace.