You Must have Pain

I have studied people suffering some even wishing they were dead, just because they feel some kind of pain.

The more I sympathized with them, the more I felt pain in my heart. No wonder, some people curse God when they reach this point.

I received so many prayer requests from people asking me to pray to God so that he can take away the pain.

But recently when I met a leprosy patient, I realized that nothing God created was short of importance and value.

Anyone who has ever lived with a leprosy patient knows what I am talking about: Life with wounds caused by lack of pain sensory nerves.

Like any other body sensations say, the sense of smell, the sense of sight, pain can also give the sensation of pleasure if studied well. Take a leprosy patient for instance; he suffers in life because his pain sensations are dead.

Phillip Yancey, Author of ‘Where is God when it hurts’ noted that a finger is sensitive to 3grams of pressure. But because it needs to be tough to withstand rigorous activities, it needs 300grams to produce painful sensations. So for this reason only, a carpenter will work, a Guitarist will also play without feeling pain!

But the Cornea of the eye due to its transparency, essential to admit only light rays, it has limited blood supply making it fragile. For instance, a small wound would cause total blindness. So the pain sensors in the cornea has an electronic hotline with the brain, according to Phillip.

Dr. Paul Brand of the ‘Gift of pain’ raises the theory of referred pain. He says that some times the problem may be too much or the pain sensors in that particular area may be dead. So the organ recruits a nearby sensor to sound the pain. Internal organs mainly do this. So sometimes perfectly health organs, say the head, shoulder, legs may feel the pain due to the sensations on the inner organs. Think of headaches during stress.

What is the remedy?
Pain itself is not a problem, but a sign {Messenger}. It is a form of body communication to tell you that something is wrong. It is better for the person to respond to the problem than cursing the messenger!

For instance, due to pressure of inflammation, an infected finger may become more sensitive to pain. The body is telling you to give it time to heal. So if instead of resting your infected finger, you only take painkillers and continue working with it wait for that finger to be amputated just because you failed to listen!

Dr. Brand wrote, ‘Pain is unpleasant enough to force us to withdraw our finger from a hot stove, a quality that only saves us from destruction’. So unless the signal demands response, we must not heed it.

What about suffering?
Think about any situation that has ever caused suffering in your life. Oh! How you feared!
We find that fear ids the primal response to suffering and yet, beyond doubt, it is also the greatest enemy of recovery [Gen: 3:7-11]. Fear is the greatest sin that the biblical disobedience of man caused to humankind.

Much of our suffering come due to a physical world that runs according to consistent natural laws and human freedom.

Man spends most of his time chasing happiness. Yet happiness recedes those who pursue her. It comes unexpectedly as a by-product for something you invest self in, including pain!
It is hard to imagine pleasure without pain!

We then create barriers against what we call wild animals. ‘But man is the only wild animal. It is man that has broken out, all the other animals are tamed following the rugged respectability of tribe and type’ G.K Chesterton.

As man tries to fear anything, including the gift of pain, he will do anything on earth in order to cover himself –including killing his own brethren.

A word to Christians
In my study, I discovered that Jesus in all his teachings emphasized faith, hope and love. In his ministry we see him going against some of the Jewish laws in order to restore love. For instance healing on Sabbath, feasting with people considered unclean among others. So brethren, if what you do does not reflect love to humanity, make sure you create room for peace and love so as to receive blessings and the abundant grace of the lord.

In Luke 14:11 Jesus said that for all those who make themselves great will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be made great. Also read Luke 12:22.