Now I’m glad—not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss. Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. [2 Corinthians 7:9-10a (MSG)]

I admit it; sometimes I’m really foolish! About three weeks ago, I felt pain in my ankle. Hoping it would simply go away, I continued to work out and power walk. When it continued to ache, I tried the old standards of rest, ice, compression, elevation and ibuprofen but there was no improvement. Each morning, I expected a miracle cure and every day I was disappointed. Did I do the obvious thing and call a physician? Of course not! It took nearly three weeks for me to accept that since it wasn’t getting any better, it was only getting worse. I finally went to a doctor and a stress fracture was quickly diagnosed. Now, I get to wear denim leggings and a knee-high inflatable boot cast to holiday parties instead of my new high heels and red party dress!

Back to the “foolish” part: of course, it was unwise of me to delay seeing a physician. I’d even gotten the name of a foot and ankle specialist a week earlier! Moreover, the day I hurt myself, my morning’s reading had referred to pain as God’s megaphone. Apparently, those words did not register! Pain may be His way of getting our attention but God had to shout at me long and hard before I finally listened

There are many who are in excruciating pain and are doing all that is possible to alleviate it; I am not minimizing their suffering. There are, however, many more of us who remain unnecessarily in pain, simply because we aren’t listening to what the pain is telling us and are unwilling to do what we should to relieve it.

We all tend to ignore pain. For me it was a sore ankle, but for others it can be much worse. It may be the pain of a crumbling marriage or death of a loved one, a child’s addiction, severe depression, a lump in one’s breast or tightness in one’s chest, an abusive or co-dependent relationship. Others may ignore the pain of unemployment, an alcoholic spouse, precarious finances, unpaid bills, failing grades or legal difficulties. We foolishly think the pain of these problems will magically disappear if we just ignore them. They won’t! We won’t wake tomorrow suddenly untroubled and unbruised, in a good mood, free of debt or cancer, with a healthy heart, passing grades, or a new job.

Pain is, indeed, God’s megaphone. It is His way of telling us to admit we’re hurting and need help. As we seek God, we need to ask Him what our pain means and what things He expects us to do to improve our condition. God may be telling us to change bad habits, leave abusive or unhealthy relationships, or to stop spending or enabling. We may have to seek medical help or spiritual guidance, start studying or search for ways to get better. Professional help, support groups, counselling or major changes in our behavior and attitudes may be necessary to relieve our pain.

Are you in pain? If so, what might He be saying to you? Is there something He wants you to learn? Is there something He wants you to do? Have you committed the situation to Him? Listen and let Him lead.

Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. [From “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis]

Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” [From “The Problem of Pain” by C.S. Lewis]

Show me how you work, God; School me in your ways.  Take me by the hand; Lead me down the path of truth. You are my Savior, aren’t you? [Psalm 25:4-5 (MSG)]