“Stuff happens.” I saw that on a bumper sticker once. Stuff happens to our bodies. People I know well have been in car accidents, sports accidents, and home accidents. People I am close to have arthritis as a daily companion. Their pens no longer move, and their musical instruments must now lay silent. I know some of their world. When my back goes out on me, I just collapse onto the floor as waves of agony sweep over me.
Modern medicine has greatly reduced the amount of physical pain in our lives. But there is plenty left. We live a lot longer than we used to. But guess what—that just means that we are frail longer.
Here’s what God says about your pain: “He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one” (Psalm 22:24). In other words, pain does not mean that you are being punished. To the contrary, God will make your pain work for his loving agenda in some way. None of your suffering is meaningless. Everything will be brought together to serve a greater purpose.
Your pain will have limits—it won’t last a minute longer than the Lord decrees. “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5).