I hardly ever get sick, but last week my body ached off and on. What I thought was a 24 hour flu turned into a 96 hour lesson on pain and suffering. One night while in the shower, I pictured Jesus on the cross and saw the blood running down his face and body. His face showed the level of excruciating pain He was experiencing. He didn’t die of a quick death, but had to endure a slow, painful death with a lot of suffering. Even the days leading up to His crucifixion were full of pain and suffering. While carrying the cross, He reached a level of exhaustion no Mother will ever reach. He even endured a meaningless, intolerable beating. As I stood in the shower, my aches and pains, all of sudden, seemed minimal. I began to praise God for taking me back to the cross. Yes, God is my Healer, yet I should be willing to sometimes share in the suffering of Christ. My goodness, can I endure a little pain from time to time? If God allowed His son to be bruised, why wouldn’t He allow me to be bruised? Even when I’m going through a storm, I would rather be delivered, than go through. When I’m hot, I turn on the air. When I’m cold, I turn on the heat. Good grief! Being sick and experiencing the pains and sufferings of life doesn’t change my relationship with Christ, but it sure does challenge my relationship with Him. I began to praise God in the shower for this life changing revelation and I asked for strength and mercy in my sickness. It’s amazing how my simple, yet sincere praise energized me and made me feel better. Focusing on the cross offers peace, deliverance, healing, and everything else Christ suffered and died for, but when we take our focus off the cross, we lose our power. My sickness was just another way of God getting me to the place where He can use me.
I Peter 4:1 (NLT)
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.
