Pain Perspective
Pt. 1- Pain Perversion
It has been said that there are only 2 things that are certain in life . . . death and taxes. However, I would add a third certain to that list. We know this is certain because it is a direct result of the choices and ramifications to those choices that Adam and Eve made in the garden. You remember what happens . . . they eat from the forbidden tree and God shows up and as consequences to their actions we are told in Genesis 3:17-19:
He told the Man: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from, ‘Don’t eat from this tree,’ The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you’ll be working in pain all your life long.
So we are promised many things in Scripture and we stand on, claim and celebrate those promises. However, we often overlook that pain was promised as well. So another way to say this is that the source of our pain is our fallenness. So pain is promised and it is real. I will not try to stand up here and downplay or diminish the reality of your pain. Some of you are dealing with heaping helpings of very real pain. Physical pain. Sickness is a constant companion. Emotional pain. Some of you are walking through the valley of the death of marriages, friendships, and love ones. Pain is real. However, I also want to tell you that there is hope and purpose in our pain. Yes . . . our pain is caused by our fallenness but the hope we have is in our fatherdness. God, in light of promised pain, then says “I am ever present help in the time of need!” So, although pain is promised so is His presence. So, I submit to you that our issue with pain is not the reality of pain it is our perspective during pain. I believe most of us struggle with perspective not because we believe God causes pain (we understand the source of our pain) but rather we falter because we struggle with the idea that God uses our pain! So our perspective gets messed up and we despise the pain, dwell on the pain, and allow pain to defeat us completely. I want to spend a few weeks talking about pain and try to help us to learn some lessons and a new perspective that will allow us to handle promised pain successfully and maybe even come to an understanding that in pain God is trying to use what the enemy meant for harm for our good.
Exodus 5:3-9
3Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”4But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.” 6That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
So after 400 years of this type of slavery and treatment God breaks in and sends a deliverer backed up by supernatural plagues until the Pharaoh relents and releases. The Egyptians change their mind and (Ex. 14) give chase to the escaping slaves only to be swallowed up by the Red Sea at the hand of God. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 million former slaves, supplied by their own task masters with riches are now marching towards a Promised Land that they will take as their own. However, three days into their journey they are dying of thirst. Moses cries out to God in the wilderness and God once again shows them that He is in control and has their best interest at heart and provides water. Then after a month of wilderness life they cry out to God in hunger and He provides manna (angel food). It is here that we come to a painful passage and gain perspective about pain.
Exodus 16:1-3
1The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Numbers 11:4-6
4The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
After undeniable God interruptions and divine interventions. After occasions where God has directed and provided. After miracles and manifestations. We come to this painful passage where free folks want to become slaves again. A passage where victorious folks long for days of being victims. Where a prison is preferred over a promise. Pain impacts their perspective!
A. Pain paints a perverted picture!
These folks, who were slaves and in Exodus 5 were crying out for relief from the forced labor that was killing them, now in the midst of a painful moment, paint a perverted picture of Egypt. Now instead of no straw, unrealistic brick quotas and working in the scorching sun it is meat, vegetable platters, and garlic knots. It is no longer slavery it is siesta.
You need to understand that pain affects our memory.
These folks long to go back to the COMFORT of Egypt. What comfort? Are you kidding me? Pharaoh was a cruel taskmaster and they want to go back.
We shake our heads but if we are not careful, then that is exactly what happens when we are faced with seasons of pain!
I want back in the relationship. You fail to remember the brokenness. The turmoil. The abuse. The fights. The manipulation. Do you remember the countless hours of tears? Do you remember the fear? Do you remember the heartache?
I want back in that job. Do you remember hating going to work? Do you remember the impact the coworkers had on your life? Do you remember the negative environment? Do you remember the stress?
Pain causes us to have selective amnesia! In our pain clouded perspective we pervert the season we begged, prayed, fasted to get out of into a season of pleasure. She was fine . . . yeah the pain of loneliness has caused you to forget she was crazy. He held me . . . yeah but the pain of rejection has caused you to remember that he slept around. Oh man my old church did such and such and this church doesn't . . . yeah but you have forgotten that you begged God to release you because of mean people that talked bad about you every Sunday! Pain is a pervert! Pain causes us to forget the details. Pain causes us to forget reality!
2. Pain can make you go mad!
Pain perverts so badly that these folks fail to recognize a God send when they have one. They get angry at the very guy who was the only guy brave enough to stand up to Pharaoh. They are angry at the only guy that was willing to put his life on the line for freedom. You brought us out here to die!
Not only that they are made at the one who sent this guy! They get mad at God. Go back and read the rest of Numbers 11 and listen to God’s response to their grumbling against Moses’! God takes it personal.
Numbers 11:20
You’re going to be so sick of meat that you’ll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here’s why: Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh, why did we ever have to leave Egypt?’”
When you are in more pain than you have ever endured in your life if you are not careful, then you can easily become angry. And pain induced anger can cause you to mistake destruction for deliverance. They are in so much pain and become so angry that they are having to deal with this pain that they look at bondage and call it freedom!
This account teaches us that if we are not careful when we are in a season of pain our Pain can literally cause you to attack those assigned to assist. You will blame others and ultimately blame the One who sent them to help you . . . God. So much pain that God sent people now become the target of your complaints, your words, and your anger. They check on you out of concern and you are suspicious. Out of care they offer advice and even if it is silly advice you anger boils over. And when pain has perverted your perspective you will run to relief rather than running to relationship. How many of you know sometimes relief simply leads to destruction? Ask someone trying to break an addiction from drugs/alcohol. Rather than pressing into the relationships that would have provided continued freedom and a chance at life they run back to the relief of the fix/drink and although they find momentary relief they end up in permanent destruction!
You have seen someone in pain make terrible mistakes about what they run to and who they run away from? It is because they have lost perspective in pain. That is why we see folks in pain that we try to help, try to restore, and try to assist get mad at us as if we did something to them.
Pain, if you are not very careful, will cause you to sever relationship that you are going to need to be able to survive the pain!
Listen if you are in severe pain this morning you need to be careful about blaming others or blaming God! God is not the cause of the pain . . . remember our fallenness is the cause. Our hope is our fatheredness. If you are in pain you can trust God and you can trust the people He assigns to assist you in the pain. If you allow yourself to grow angry you will only doom yourself to grow alone! You will become isolated from the One and the ones sent by the One to help.
The good news this morning is God placed you here for help! God has surrounded you with folks that care about your pain. They may not have any answer or any solution but they are here for the complete journey and they can call on the One who can strengthen you and fulfill the purpose of the pain. And yes it may be painful now but weeping endures for a night . . . hang on, hold on . . . don’t give up and allow the pain of your life to pervert your perspective. It may be painful but if you will stay the course you can find the promise.
