Pain

'Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?' Psalm 6:2-3

I have a dodgy knee, a painful dodgy knee. I ignore it until I'm in agony. Today I have woken up in aforementioned agony. It hurts to walk. It hurts to sit. Basically, it hurts. A lot. This has sent me into a downward spiral, I would have very much liked to hide in my bed all day, moping, moaning and having a regular pity party. I called a friend to whinge about my stupid joints, to complain about how hard I have it. But really, how hard DO I have it?

'Pain is no evil, unless it conquers us.' Charles Kingsley

Ok, so I hurt. That naughty Devil is trying to bring me down, trying to make me turn my back on the Lord and ask that question, the one people utter in times of desperation;

"Why, if He loves us, does he let us suffer?"

Because we were not put here to have an easy time. We have trials, we have tests, we have suffering. Our bodies ache, our souls hurt, our eyes 'grow weak with sorrow' (Psalm 6:7). We need to respond well to these tests, to know, that despite our pains He does love us. This sums things up in words my brain won't find today;

'God never allows pain without a purpose in the lives of His children. He never allows Satan, nor circumstances, nor any ill-intending person to afflict us unless He uses that affliction for our good. God never wastes pain. He always causes it to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the likeness of His Son (see Romans 8:28-29).  - Jerry Bridges'

So, no moping for me today. I am up. I am dressed. I am trusting the Lord that he has big things planned for me and my knee. Though I probably won't be competing in the Olympics anytime soon.