Quit Running From Your Pain!

Quit Running From Your Pain!

…Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. II Timothy 2:3

I like to run but I do not always feel like running. I’ve discovered when I run through the pain I feel much better than when I quit running because of the pain! Pain is a necessary evil that allows us to gage what our body can handle, but our pain tolerance is far greater than what we think.  Just talk to a soldier who has spent days in combat or talk to a prisoner of war who has returned home after years of prison time; they would tell you they endured far more than what they thought they could have endured. People who are addicted to pain killers have become accustomed to running from the pain. I am not making light of their pain but the reality is that when you take pain medicine for every little ailment, when it comes time for really needing it you will find yourself using far more than the average man who has learned to live with every day pains.

No marriage stays together without learning to endure a little mental or emotional pain. Nobody gets ahead financially and stays there without learning to endure the pain of restraint. Nobody experiences better health the natural way without enduring the pain of exercise and restraint. Likewise, nobody grows in grace without learning to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ!

Jackie Robinson would be cursed, threatened, taken advantage of by the umpires. He would want to fight or quit. When he told Branch Rickey of his intentions, Branch Rickey said, “I need a player who has the guts not to fight back!” Jackie said, “Give me a number and a uniform and I will give you the guts.” He had to embrace the pain if he were to succeed as a black man in the big leagues. He did!

Dear Christian, are you running from the pain? God will not put you through more than you can handle as long as you rely on his strength (1 Corinthians 10:13). We make excuses for not coming to church, we make excuses for not serving the Lord, and, we make excuses for not walking with God because the pains of life are not going away. The fact is, it’s the pain that is testing you. The pain of peer pressure, the pain of self-restraint, the pain of the disciplined life! These are all part of the Christian life. Nobody can be a good Christian without the pain of discipline!

We wonder why Christianity is not making a greater impact than the entertainment industry in our country. It’s because the entertainers will discipline themselves to win an audience! Would to God we would discipline ourselves to win the lost! Quit running from the pain!

There are two great pains in life; the pain of discipline and the pain of regret!


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