Ministering to People in Pain

It’s challenging to know how to deal with our thorns in the flesh. It’s even more complex to know how to minister to people in pain. A good place to start is to consider how you have processed pain and how people have ministered to you in a sensitive and meaningful way.

As I reflect back on my most painful episodes with Trigeminal Neuralgia, two things come to mind. First, don’t stay away. People that gave me the gift of presence were incredibly helpful. Second, don’t attempt to provide answers to the unexplainable. The one-liner, “The fresher the grief; the fewer the answers” has been true for every thorn I’ve experienced.

Third, learn from Jesus, “The Wonderful Counselor.” In Isaiah 50:4, we read this prophecy about the Lord Jesus: The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. If you are going to serve people in the crucible of suffering, follow Jesus’ example. Listen attentively to the Spirit’s prompting. Wait on him for responses that will sustain people who are worn down with suffering. Be slow to give answers and quick to ask questions, and just listen.

Above all, take Jesus with you. He knows how to minister. Depend on him. I love the story of a visit of Corrie Ten Boom, to evangelist Manley Beasley. He was in incredible pain. He says that when Corrie entered his hospital room, Jesus came with her. It was as if heaven had come to the room. His pain didn’t subside, but he found the strength to cope through the presence of the Great Physician.

One way that Christ’s abundant grace is ministered through us, to people in pain, is when like the Lord Jesus, as in the story of the raising of Lazarus, the timing of our visit is appropriate, we bless them with our presence, and we weep with those who weep.

• What are some of the best ways people have ministered to you when you have been suffering?
• Whom might the Spirit be prompting you to visit in the next while?

Excerpts from The Point of Your Thorns: Finding Purpose in Your Pain

By Rowland Forman