The Body Revelation 7-Day JourneySample

Stage 1: Just Surviving

Experiencing pain is universal, and being a Christian doesn’t exclude us from difficulties, as much as we wish it did. In our attempt to escape pain, we may push it aside, bury it down deep, or seek pleasure in unhealthy ways. No matter how much we may try to bury or evict suffering, it doesn’t go away on its own. Pain must be metabolized.

If you’ve read the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, you know the story centers on a wealthy father and his two sons who seemed to have everything they could possibly need. Despite being privileged, the younger son asked his father for his share of the inheritance, a request we may find to be ungrateful and selfish. After all, the son’s desire to leave his father’s presence and go out into the world on his own grew so strong that he couldn’t wait for his father to die. Ouch.

While we may shake our heads at the actions of the younger son, are we any different? We all suffer from his condition because of the years we lived outside our Father’s gates. Prior to putting our faith in God, we lived as orphans on the earth, roaming the world looking for value. Our belief in God takes us off the streets and inside our Father’s home and care.

Even in losing our orphan status, we come to God dragging a duffle bag full of desires—the perfect body, the marriage of our dreams, or talents, skills, or abilities that will dazzle others. Just like the Prodigal Son, we cause pain to the Father’s heart when we elevate things of this world above Him. It’s crazy to think we have the power to cause God pain, but if you’ve ever loved someone who didn’t love you in return, you’ve experienced it too.

So what does the story of the Prodigal Son have to do with processing our pain? Well, our inability to work through pain in a healthy way can interfere not only with our need for love but also with our ability to receive love—yes, even the perfect love of our heavenly Father.

God knew His children would go through trials, but He also knew those troubles would help make us more like His Son, Jesus, who was sent to make a way for us to get back to our Father’s home.

If we apply God’s Word to our lives when bad things happen to us, we have the power to change our thinking, feeling, and choosing from negativity to goodness.

In Christ, we can be transformed into a new state of being—from merely surviving to thriving.