Chapter 12
Never Forget The Pain
Psalm 106:7 Our fathers understood not Thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of Thy mercies; but provoked Him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
Those fixed on forgetting pain are destined to repeat it. I don’t know where I heard that or if I just made it up but regardless it sure makes sense. As children we learn this lesson or at least we should; that if you play with something that bites back and it does, it will probably do it again. What does that mean to us? That lessons learned from pain need never be forgotten.
In my life as a Christian I know this to be true and I also know that I am a slow learner. I have, over the years, toyed with one sin or another, gotten burnt and like a sheep to the slaughter I have headed right back into it again. One would think that being once bitten should make us twice shy but it does not. The reason being is that sin tastes and looks so good that its pull is often stronger than our desire to please the Lord. If this were not so then Adam and Eve would not have messed up either.
With this thought in mind let us also be careful that we do not make the same mistake and fall back into depression and anxiety by falling back into sin. To clarify this statement let me say this - though depression and anxiety are mighty tools in the Father’s hand, tools that grow us for greatness for Him, they are also to some degree a result of sin. Many times in my life my failure to let go of certain sins and my failure to not heed the Lord’s nudge to stop them left Him no choice but to zap me a bit with those old emotions. Not that He uses that on everyone but on me it works real well. I get one single flick of those old pains and I am standing at attention to what the Lord is trying to say. I don’t want to go back there and if my sin leads me there then I would be wise to stay far from that sin.
As we have shared throughout this book, depression and anxiety are actually blessed things if we learn what they are trying to teach us. Remember the Lord doesn’t just allow and introduce things into our lives to cause pain but to bring change and spirituality. If He did do it just to see us suffer then He would be an awful tyrant and not the God of love that we know Him to be. It would be like being a parent and just punishing our child to his room just to see him suffer. No, a true parent doesn’t enjoy punishment at all but hates the fact that they must implement it. As with the Lord it is the same and if we would only learn the deeper truths that He is trying to show us, the less time maybe we would have to spend in that darkness.
Sometimes I felt that I stayed so long in that darkness simply because I refused to submit to the Lord’s will over my will. Reminds me of being a child at a certain age and my father (back in the day) struck me with his belt. In my apostasy I would arrogantly say; “that didn’t hurt, so there”. I really said that and as I look back I see the same attitude that I have had towards God as an adult. “Lord I like doing what I want, and though you punish me I will not let it go, it is mine, all mine”.
Have you ever seen a very young child do that? When playing with a toy and other children want that toy and the child says: “mine, mine, mine”. Even if we slap their hand or try to pull it away, they only hold on more. Not to compare us to animals but my little Beagle Buddy does the same thing. When he has a toy or an object that is not his and I try to remove it, he will growl and fight me. Even if I give him a light tap on his nose he will only squint his eyes but yet not let go- amazing! Dear friend as we close out this book with this last chapter, let us.....................................
Stay tuned for the complete Book and devotion coming out this fall.
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