It was just a simple thing like nailing the board when… pain took over my life. My finger was pounding. This led to throwing the hammer, putting my finger in my mouth and words from the gutter came roaring out. As my finger was throbbing, I asked myself, “How could this happen?”

Isn’t this like life? Something simple turns into a painful event. And the next thing, we are saying and doing stupid things. We want to blame someone or something for the pain. Pain brings out the worst… the weakness in us. But pain can teach us many lasting and important lessons.

Paul experienced pain, a lot of pain in his walk with the Lord. He gave us his painful experiences in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” I believe he listed these painful experiences not for a pat on the back or to get a ribbon, but to point to the reality, following Jesus is not always comfortable, understandable, or easy. In short, there will be pain in life. The question is, how will we respond?

Paul opened his heart and revealed his secret. It’s a secret everyone can know and use. But the key to activating the secret is knowing and trusting the source of the secret. We find it in 2 Corinthians 12:5-10, “…but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say,or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This is why the world does not understand a follower of Christ. It’s because they do not know Him enough to trust Him. If this is where you are, caught up in the pain & anxiety of the day, I encourage you to start today with Him in prayer & in His Word. It is when we daily spend time with Him… He will whisper to your heart using the scriptures of Wisdom, Strength, Peace & Joy. This is why the Bible is called “The Guidebook For Living.”