Currently, I am learning a few things about living in pain.
I have been a relatively healthy person my whole life. Minor things would come and go but I enjoy a pretty sick and pain-free life.
This changed about eight weeks ago.
I have a “stiff shoulder.” I woke up with it a few months ago. I have limited movement in my left arm and pain associated with the swollen ligaments and tendons. Any sudden extended movement in the wrong direction is like a knife being jammed into my shoulder. I really don’t know how else to explain it.
How do you navigate living in pain while believing in the power of God to heal?
My first order of business was to go to Jesus and receive healing prayer and then head to the doctor. After chiropractic work, x-rays, an MRI and shoulder exercises, I am still in the same spot as I was 8 weeks ago.
I am seeking further treatment and will eventually get this thing behind me.
Lessons have surfaced from all of this and I want to pass them on to you. Again, this is coming from someone who has had a relatively pain-free life.
- Being in pain is an injustice and a nuisance. I cannot believe how much of a pain it is to live in pain. People live in pain continually. I have a whole new level of compassion and empathy for “pain-bearers”. It’s just not right.
- Being in pain is time-consuming and costly. Exercises up to 1.5 hours a day to work out this shoulder is needed. Also taking and buying medication can be costly. Repeat trips to the pharmacy is really not enjoyable. It’s consuming both time and money.
- Being in pain is annoying and distracting. Constant pain distracts me from thinking, planning and studying. Even writing this post is a chore. Though I press on it is flat-out distracting and bothersome.
I have lived a relatively pain-free life but this is a bit of an awakening. This condition will eventually work itself out. When? I really don’t know.
Here are a few things I will keep doing.
- I will keep receiving prayer for healing. When I am around staff and my Convergence family, I grab their hand and place it on my shoulder and tell them to pray for healing. I lay hands on myself and pray for the release of the healing anointing.
- I will keep seeing the medical community. God brings healing through the medical field so I will move through the steps. I will do physical therapy and have things monitored regularly.
- I will ask questions seeking solutions. I ask God questions regarding healing. I have been a bit challenged these days so this forces me to learn more from the Lord regarding healing.
- I will fight to stay positive about my healing. I can only imagine how people must feel about continuing to get prayer for a condition they have had for years, even decades. It’s hard to not cave into the thought of just learning to live with it. Grace to anyone who is in this boat.
- Lastly, I sense the Lord just wants me to thank Him for my healing. I am doing this out of a place of obedience and gratitude.
Psalm 103:2-3 ”Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,”
Jesus purchased our healing! It’s a “benefit” given to every believer. So I contend for what has been paid for. Though healing is still a mystery to me I trust Him as my Healer in spite of my pain.
Yes. Pain can take a person, even a strong believer, to very dark places when it is all consuming. Like with severe back pain. It can be all consuming. It is so disturbing, distracting that all you can think about is the constant pain. I live with pain. Luckily my back pain is much better. The severe pain only lasted a couple of months but during those 2 months it was extreme. To the excruciating degree. Most of the time it is a constant bother. I have joint pain, stomach pain, hip pain, my arm goes dead in certain positions. At night although I want to be in The Prayer Room or playing my guitar worshipping or just reading my Bible, I flop on the recliner and turn on a major distract on TV. To tired to even move and then my restless legs (a real medical condition RLS) ‘kick’ in! I love Jesus. I pray throughout the day. I ask him for deliverance from the illegal aches and pains.I do not accept these diseases. But they continue. I believe the answer is on its way. That there will be a breakthrough. Angels and all of Gods armies are contending for all of us. At the appointed time there will be an outpouring of healing. Maybe we are not ready yet. Some healings are happening. But I am one who is contending for ‘all’ to be healed, like Jesus. The word says even greater things will we do! Let’s go after it! For those stuck in the pain cycle like my brother Mic. I am praying for you and for me. That you will be healed. The enemy comes to steal kill and destroy your faith your hope and ultimately your love (relationship) with the Father. Don’t let him win. Whether we are healed or not God is still good and he has not failed us. I believe my eyes will see the day soon when all who come will be healed. We have seen only in part so far. But Gods word is true. PG. Maybe God is allowing our desire for healing to grow our empathy for the sick so we can be forerunners in the healing movement to come. I want to see it and be a part of it. How about you!
This kind of testimony amazes me. While in our pain we see healing in other area’s of our lives. There are lessons and truth to be learned as a result of our pain. Now, I am not advocating sickness to learn lessons but I cannot ignore the lessons I am learning in the midst of my pain. Susan, your comment ends with great encouragement and solid admonition. I pray for 100% breakthrough for you!
PG- Ironically I just picked up the late Wendell Smith’s book Faith for Healing Wisdom for Health. Awesome resource! The other side of healing is wisdom for health. I know you will get plenty of advice with this post, but I have been on a regiment of supplements that have renewed my health since November. I can talk to you offline because i don’t like to pollute other peoples blogs, but I specifically know of 3 products that will help you. I have a powerful testimony to share with you. Would love to share the wisdom that I’ve been so blessed to receive.
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Dean, looks like Wendell’s book is out of print. Maybe you there is a PDF of the book somewhere on the net. I fully believe that we need to be wise stewards in staying healthy, eating right and caring for the temple of God. Wendi and I have spent much of last year reassessing our eating habits — all for the good! Love to hear what is working for you.
Pastor Benny Perez still has copies. Call Church of South Las Vegas and have them send you one. Just bought it when I was there!
This is awesome PG…and so are you. We are so blessed to have a pastor with such honesty coupled with passion for the truth and determination to walk in it. Thank you so much PG! You ROCK.
Thanks, Carla. I really don’t know how else to live and/or be.
Pastor Greg – I can relate! I will be praying for your healing ~ I KNOW God heals because I’ve seen far too many healings throughout my life to doubt; however, WHEN He does the healing is the problem! ♥
Timing is certainly another thing to consider in healing. Of course, our timetable can be much different then God’s. Something worth considering. Thanks for sharing and your prayers as well.
It’s all about faith. Faith can feel manufactured sometimes. Or so the enemy would like us to believe. It just occurred to me that all believers have had a SUDDENLY! When we ge tsaved our faith sparks just long enough for the miracle of salvation. And truly it is a miracle. It’s cool to think…YES. I have had a miracle in my life. But again this miracle happened in Gods timing. I also loved the comment about God “escorting” us. That is truly incredible. That God in all his greatness and power wants to take the time to carry us through our rough patches. They are still hard but having him with us. I often wonder how the unsaved can live life without Jesus! -Bye for now- Sue
Yeah. Those who don’t know Jesus, don’t know what they are missing (truely). That’s why the Gospel is GOOD NEWS! Let’s share our testimony frequently. Thanks, Susan.
I’ve been there. And I’ve seen the miraculous healing of God after months of pain. I am praying for your “suddenly”. I know that the Lord is able. I pray that during this season you will be strengthened as you wait for your healing. Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”
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Your personal healing testimony declares that Jesus heals. Every testimony provides internal strength and hope. Praying that my “suddenly” will come quickly. Thanks for praying and sharing.
ahhhh….i love how Papa opens peoples eyes …and hearts!!! sometimes in ways we really can’t appreciate , at least not at the moment…..i love your honesty….so refreshing….about the whole new level of compassion…..”break my heart Lord with the things that break Your heart!” “count it pure joy; every trial and suffering!” i KNOW Papa heals, i have been instantly healed several times….and He has been escorting me through a few long term healings (that i know may never been received until that most glorious healing of all!!!)
Thanks, Kathy. I love how you put that God is “escorting me through a few long term healings”. An escort “accompanies another for protection and security.” So true. God never leaves us nor forsakes us, that’s His promise. He is with THROUGH the process and close to us in it. I choose to believe this because it’s His Word. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Greg,
I am so sorry to hear about this pain you are going through; my heart just aches for your suffering. I will be praying for our awesome God to heal you and remove this pain from your shoulder.
I am a chronic pain suffer for over 7 years now. Rheumatoid arthritis has been the culprit of my pain. I know what it is like to go from pain free to 100% pain 24/7. Pain changes your personality as it eats away at your nerves and you become cranky and very snappy. Having said that, God is still very good and I am so happy to hear that you are praising Him through all of this. I too chose to praise Him even when the tears were flowing down my face because of the intensity of the pain and He was faithful to see me through. He gave me the grace to make it through and during the whole trial He taught me things I would never have learned if I wasn’t suffering. He opened my eyes and drew me into His arms and for this I am so thankful. I am who I am today because of the suffering I have gone through and I would never change it a bit.
I am almost pain free now, because I continued to seek His face and in amongst the pain I praised Him. I learned how to do things differently to accommodate the pain and through all of it people, who watched me suffer, got to see God in action.
Something I wish to pass on to you is when it hurts just praise Jesus. It is hard to do but as you just say it, eventually your heart will follow and you will totally mean it. What Satan has planed for harm, God will use for good if you hand it to Him in praise and worship. Satan cannot stand up against that.
Lifting you up in prayer and intercession to our Mighty God, Healer of all.
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How amazing! The endurance in the people of God is overwhelming. Reading these testimonies and the battle people like you have waged in the midst of pain is so encouraging. The good news is that there is breakthrough. There is healing! Thanks for sharing your life, candidly. It encourages me and other readers as well.
Oh yea!! I forgot to mention…God led me into seeking prayer from a pastor and to have him anoint me with oil on the joints that were afflicted. James 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. This is the Bible verse I was directed to have prayed over me, so I claimed this as a healing verse for me. I am now 2 1/2 years in remission and only have a small amount of pain. Praise GOD!
Blessings,
Child of God recently posted…Majestic Mountains
Real familier with James 5:14. Good reminder to keep the Word in front of me.
good thoughts. i have had different times of choric pain in my life – one in particular when i was in my early 20′s after a car accident where neck pain lasted for several years. i did all the things you list and i was completely healed in an “and suddenly” moment after i had been prayed for and went to physical therapy, chiropractic, done the med thing for a long time without the results i was looking for. i am so thankful that even when i get short spans of pain now that God cares about my physical body. He deeply cares for it because He created it and called what He created good. i press through even more for healing now for others and have grown in compassion for those who live in constant pain or sickness. i also long for our resurrected bodies that will finally work completely the way He always intended for bodies to work and for sin, sickness, and death to be done away with forever. every healing i see now makes me more excited for then too. i pray with you for your complete healing. i love when God does what only He can do.
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One thing that keeps coming to the surface in our comments is that people have experienced long periods of time in pain, then they are healed through more of a natural process and/or when God steps in and does things His way.
Nonetheless, I’m encouraged to read these testimonies and am believing for a full recovery myself. Thanks for sharing, Charis.
I am doing all five things as well. I’ve had chronic pain since age 13, diagnosed as “Fibromyalgia” at age 22. Some natural remedies gave me several years of relief, but it’s been back for almost 1 year the worst it has been. I believe God could miraculously heal me, but in the process it has caused me to research and learn so much about health and God’s design of our body that as I seek natural pain management and heath my whole family has benefited by our lifestyle changes. Most people have no idea how bad my pain is, and that’s ok, I try to keep my eyes on Jesus and get as much out of the trial as I can
I know it will not last *forever* 
Gina, definitely you have discovered some real key things in the process of your pain. Eating healthy has been such a great discovery along the way for both you and the family. I’m glad you are feeling better and I pray this continues. Interesting thoughts and great takeaways. Thanks for sharing.
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2008, and live with constant pain. In addition to your suggestions i would add three more things. First, look for the blessings in the midst of your trial. When it comes to pain the blessing usually comes in the form of charqcter development-empathy, humility, dependence on God, being able to see what’s really important. Second, seek God’s guidance and obey. This is very much an individual journey but God is all knowing and will lead you into the path of healing if you let Him. For instance, God revealed to me that my silver fillings had mercury in them through a random documentary about the Gershon Therapy that my daughter was watching. This led me to do more research and I eventually had my fillings replaced and have experienced about a 60% improvement in my condition. It’s taking me a little bit longer to eliminate caffeine and reduce sugar but I pay the price when I disobey. The last thing I would add is to be bold in your prayers for healing appealing to God about how much more affective you can be for His glory without the sickness. Thank you for your ministry and I pray for a complete healing so you can continue full force for God.
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Hi Gail. So glad you stopped by.
I whole-heartedly agree with the additional suggestions mentioned. Allow me to comment on each.
1. Here Romans 8:28 shines, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him…” Through the pain lessons are learned. My empathy level has gone up many notches for others in pain as a result of my own.
2. I am discovering that many of our health related issues are caused by what goes in us, whether it’s resting on your teeth (in your case) or goes more internally ie the food we eat and the things we drink. Though I am not a conspiracy guy, I have certainly changed much of my eating habits based on what I have discovered. Much sickness and pain can be avoided.
3. I pray for healing because I know it lines up with His will, Matthew 6:10. So let’s keep contending!
Happy to say that I am in 0 pain and have been for about a month. So praise God! I don have some stiffness that I am trying to work out.
Praying for you and thanks for taking time to share! Blessings.
I have been struggling with “collitis” for 3 years now. two weeks ago, the doctor took a specialized diagnostic blood test & called me in to his office when the results came back. He informed me that the blood test confirmed “crohn’s disease”… He called the illness “a mystery wrapped in an enigma”… He went over how doctors don’t know the cause or how to treat it. Fortunately, though the discomfort, the frequency, urgency, embarrasment etc., are all experiences I have on a daily basis, I am thankful that the “pain” hasn’t been severe ever really. I’d write more about the frustration of ignorance, the contradictory literature, the inconsistant treatments, the controversy over diets, the leading theories (guesses) about the cause. I’ve asked for prayer… I have become somewhat isolated as it remains, & to continue to ask presents with a potential fatigue to those who have prayed… I prayed this morning for God to be glorified, to show me how He & His kindgom can be promoted through this…. Not sure what else to do, but it has affected my relationship to Him & others… I recognize the 5 stages of grief, especially anger being challenging some times…. I find sometimes the drama of those who don’t have this to contend with a little annoying…(sorry for the honesty).. … more later.
Frank, your story, as well as others, is sobering. As a Pastor I have seen people instantly healed and others carry on with deseases for decades. I have seen good people suffer and those who don’t really care much about the Lord, healed. I believe that healing is clearly taught in the Word yet don’t understand delays. I, in a small way, understand the struggle. I’m not afraid of an honest thought or question. I know we live in a broken world. I know too, we are to eat right, exercise etc. Yet I still see injustice. I know God is good and I know He is my healer. His ways a greater and His thoughts higher. I will continue to pray for you and go after healing because it’s biblical, right and because He told us that healing is part of our inheritance Mark 16:18. Thanks for sharing.