Resilient: Bounce Back When Life Knocks You DownSample

Resilient through Pain

Pain, a neurological sense that something has gone completely and utterly wrong is not something we can avoid. Pain can be physical, emotional, and even spiritual. Although everyone’s perception of pain differs, we all feel it at some point in time in our lives. Pain can either halt our progress or propel us into a hopeful and beautiful future. It’s all about your perception and ability to rebound. 

I vividly remember feeling heart-shattering pain when I was twenty-one years old. I was facing an unplanned pregnancy. I was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. I had trust issues with God. I was a lost soul. I did the unthinkable. I aborted my unborn child. It was the most difficult decision I had to make in my life. The pain, guilt, and shame I felt after having an abortion haunted me for years and  took me years to recover. Even today, I wonder what might have been if I’d only trusted God to see me through it. 

Your pain could be similar or different from my pain. Nevertheless, we all hurt for one reason or another, whether we bring it on ourselves or something unexpected happens like losing a loved one. Everyone hurts, no one is exempt from it. The good news is, we don’t have to bear the pain alone. We don’t have to hurt forever.

How do you become resilient through pain? First, you must understand that you are not meant to carry the burden of pain alone. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30, HCSB). If you’re going to be yoked with anyone, you want to be yoked with Jesus because He will never let you bear more of a burden than you should. As a matter of fact, He bears the bulk of the burden for you. You just have to give it to Him. When you are yoked with Jesus, He feels your pain. He feels the weight of the load you are carrying, and He wants to take that weight off you. When you are yoked with Jesus, you are never alone. 

Secondly, don’t ignore your pain. Don’t try to bury it and pretend it doesn’t exist. Sweeping pain under the rug only allows it to linger longer than it should. Drinking doesn’t take away. Getting high doesn’t take it away. Retail therapy doesn’t make it go away. All of those things are temporary fixes for a deeper issue only God can solve. How will you ever grow and mature past the pain if you don’t address it? Remember, pain can halt your progress or propel you forward. What will you allow your pain to do for you? 

Prayer:

Thank You, Father, for being a burden bearer. Thank You in advance for healing me of all the pain I’ve experienced. I know You want to see me healed and whole again. As I process the pain I’ve experienced, Lord I ask that You give me strength and resilience to see it through. I want to be made whole in You, God. Thank You for never leaving me. Thank You for carrying me when I’m too weak to stand on my own. In Jesus's name, Amen.