Don’t Run From Pain! Instead, Embrace it & Face it Head On:
Sometimes, it’s not that a person doesn’t know his or her worth, but he or she is trying to escape the pain that they feel. There are some painful things that we are required to walk through that help us to build up a resolve of perseverance and a dependence on Christ.
There is a pain related to those who are consecrated to the Lord. To be consecrated to the Lord means that you have been set aside by God for his specific purpose. Many who are consecrated to the Lord get tripped up by the temptation to modify their consecration and who God called them to be to avoid going through the various pain that comes with a consecrated lifestyle—isolation, loneliness, rejection, being passed up because a consecrated person simply will not match with just anybody.
I wrote about this briefly in my first book, “The Single Christian Woman’s Guide.” I talked about Samson, a consecrated man unto the Lord and the Lord’s purpose. He was dedicated to the Lord before he was born as a Nazerite. As a matter of fact, it was an angel sent by God who confirmed this to his parents before he was born. The purpose associated with his consecration was to destroy the Philistines who were enemies of Israel. He had a unique strength to fulfill this because of his consecration.
Somehow, the discomfort of his consecration caused him to let a woman in who was not qualified to help him fulfill his consecration. Once, he opened up to Delilah, she shared his secret to strength with the Philistines, and Samson was in bondage just like that. We give up one form of pain for another when we set aside our consecration to the Lord.
God had mercy on Samson and he was able to do some heavy damage to the Philistines in his death, but what if he had decided to endure through the pain of his consecration sticking to it? He would have fulfilled his purpose in a greater way. Learn to embrace the pain of consecration—being a little different, and waiting a little longer for someone who can accommodate the consecration on your life instead of settling yourself to adapt to an identity outside of the consecration God has called you to.
God will give you the grace to endure through the pain. Just recently, I had to ask God to give me the grace to get through a day that began in a very painful manner. Although I am someone who loves God and studies the scriptures, I am still only human and thus go through painful circumstances at times.
It may seem trivial, but I recently saw someone I used to go with—but had to let go of because we were a mismatch get engaged on social media. Even though I know God has more for me and I trust God for that, it still affected me emotionally making me feel some type of a way. Nevertheless, it also showed the growth that the Lord had worked in me. It was not enough to depress me or to make me stop. After all, I had been through this before. It’s a good check of my strength and reliance on Christ, and my ability to resolve to follow him even through the painful valleys that we will not be able to avoid.
I’d also like to note that the pain will not always last. It is only for a season. I always have the hope of what the morning will bring when it comes. We have to shift our eyes and perspectives when going through challenging times knowing that God’s promises are real and for us.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. – Psalms 30:5
One scripture, I continually speak over myself is the below in the book of Joel:
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten– the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. – Joel 2:25-26
The scriptures above remind me that even though I am sometimes tempted to look at myself from a perspective of loss due to what my consecrated lifestyle requires me to give up; There is no loss in Christ because God promises to restore what we’ve seen as a loss. I declare this over myself again and again. I get around other believers who also speak God’s word over me encouraging me. Before I know it, the pain is all gone, and I’m on my way with joy and expectation in Christ Jesus for his promises.
This is how we have to be with pain. We have to face it. We cannot ignore it allowing it to simmer and bring us down. Don’t run from pain. Learn to confront it head-on.
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