Pain is not THE Problem

Eden! Just another day in the garden that God had made! Just another day filled with more discoveries of wondrous pleasures! From behind the tree, Satan jealously watched the happiness shared by Adam and Eve. A serpent flew in, got trapped, and the puppet show was ready. Now began the long wait for the real prize.

The woman wandered by— Oh, what is this I see? A serpent eating in the forbidden tree!

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.” (Genesis 3:1-3)

So far, things are mostly lined up in Eve’s mind. An apparently innocent question by the first ever talking animal. That’s strange. Maybe God has invented something new?!

“And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat of it then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

Now for the first time Eve experienced conflict of conscience, confusion of intellect, and the painful, fearful testing of loyalty. Bells and alarms she had never known existed began to sound in her head. Satan well knew that feeling and so kept her distracted as much as possible.

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit of it and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:6-7)

Adam and Eve ignored the warning signs of pain. Though subtle and internal, nonetheless they were distinct. They made a choice, they made an adjustment to accomodate the pain and justify the contradiction. They damaged their brains by thinking it was good to eat while at the same time knowing it was not good to eat. They had rewired themselves and there were severe side effects.

The higher channels of the mind through which the Spirit filled them with light and life were immediately closed. Their robes of light quickly faded. They felt cold and exposed. Their whole beings were deranged and out of harmony with the environment. They were filled with pain on every level.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:8-10)

Spiritual pain—shame, guilt, fear, embarassment—filled Adam’s soul. In a way this was a good thing, for pain made Adam feel his weakness. Without pain, pride would have taken uncontested control and there would be no awareness of wrongdoing. Without brakes, Adam would have attempted to drive over God, but would have been met with instant death on contact. Pain can humble the proudest man, slow him down, and make him careful.

“And unto Adam he said, Because you have listened unto the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you and you shall eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return unto the ground; for out of it were you taken: for dust you are and unto dust shall you return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

It is easy to see the pain in this sentence. Many criticize God for such a harsh punishment for just the simple act of eating fruit, but the punishment was not so much for the eating as the eating was proof of the decision, which was proof of the internal rewiring, which was proof of permanent evil, just like Satan. What we need to see in the pain is the opportunity for redemption, which could not possibly happen if instant death occured.

We need to see that the Creator and Lifegiver of the universe chose the most painful way to Himself. Zapping the disobedient children would have removed a billion problems from His list. But He loved all of His children more than Himself.

Therefore, God chose the longsuffering plan of redemption over the justice of instant death. At great cost to Himself, God would maintain a world not fully living and not fully dying. Every moment of every day, God would choose to operate a dark, imperfect hole in the joyful perfection of the universe. Those decisions are unfair to Him, unfair to the rest of the universe, and, in a different way, unfair to us—at great cost to others we are recipients of overwhelming grace that buys us time.

The other extreme of perfect life is not an option. The untransformed body and soul would scream with pain far greater than anything any of us have ever experienced if glorious perection were imposed. And it takes time for transformation and learning.

Therefore, the only other option is the time consuming condition between life and death. It is called, pain.

Pain is dis-ease. Pain is death slowly eating away at our life. Pain is the contradiction and confusion we feel as good and evil struggle for domination. Pain is what we feel as faith, hope, and love draw us upward, while force, fear, laziness, lust, greed, jealousy, temptation, and all other selfishness pulls strongly down on us.

The harmony of heaven is pure joy. Death is nothingness. Redemption is the time and space between those two, and so light must mix with dark, joy with pain.

How else are sinners to learn the evilness of evil, the sinfulness of sin? How else do we make eternal decisions except we intelligently experience and choose between the two sides?

Pain is good in the sense it is a signal for change. Otherwise we are abandoned to the inevitable sequence: no pain, no need, no change, death.

Pain is bad if we focus on it too much. Its purpose is to turn our hearts heavenward, to cry out for something better. Then, decisions for good—made and held in spite of the pain—prove the eternal transformation and trustworthiness of the sinner seeking to rejoin the perfect universe. That is the goal, that is the reason, why God chose the longsuffering route.

“For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope.” (Romans 8:20)

Believer and non-believer alike experience this hope that keeps us going, that keeps us looking forward to better days, that keeps us desiring help. It is like a solid floor on which we stand and sky full of stars toward which we gaze.

Christ took upon Himself the ultimate pain of our hopeless destruction in darkness. This painful hope, this hopeful pain, is graciously and freely given to all whether or not they know the Source.

“The whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now.” (Romans 8:22)

This means that the Creator continually groans and travails in pain. He glories in goodness. He rejoices in perfection. Therefore, He suffers from evil and feels the pain of imperfection. He not only feels our discomfort in a secondhand, sympathetic way, but He takes on the pain in a firsthand, primary way. As omnipotent mercy restrains omnipotent justice, He strains to keep the universe from imploding on itself under the weight of moral contradiction.

Every particle of evil burns Him with pain as they cry out for immediate cleansing. He continually shields us from the full, crushing weight of sin.

“Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:

yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.“ (Isaiah 53:4-5)

“The Lord... is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

God suffers first as He precisely manages our personal suffering, because “in Him we live and move and have our being,” and God is our Father encouraging repentance and avoiding angry provocation. His gentle, but firm, hands guide exactly through the experiences we need without too much or too little. When we take ourselves out of His hands, that is when we multiply our suffering needlessly.

“There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalms 103:13-14)

God “comforts us in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 1:4)

All of our trials are mixed with comfort and mercy. As much pain as some of us have endured, we have yet to feel the weight of a perfect universe pressing in on us to cleanse itself of this dark pit of a world. God’s strong hands surround us from the full pressure of justice demanding execution, while at the same time softly comforting and correcting us.

 

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

The LORD is good unto them that wait for him,

to the soul that seeks him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait

for the salvation of the LORD....

For the LORD will not cast off for ever:

But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion

according to the multitude of his mercies.

For he does not afflict willingly

nor grieve the children of men.“ (Lamentations 3:21-33)

 

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” (Isaiah 63:9)

Affliction of God’s people does not make Him happy. Rather, He feels their pain as if it happened directly to Him. (see Matthew 25:40) In fact, He who upholds all things and sustains all people feels everything, good or evil. (see Colossian 1:17; Ephesians 1:23; Acts 17:28)

God takes no pleasure in the suffering of the saints or of the wicked.

“Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn you turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)

Sometimes God must execute justice on the wicked to protect His people and their gospel mission, but He performs it with reluctance. It is not His preference nor ideal. Though the destructive forece of evil needs to be destroyed, destruction is a strange act for the Creator.

“For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” (Isaiah 28:21)

The entire Old Testament is strange to many readers because of its mix of God’s heavenly principles and humanities earthly corruption. The Old Covenant was not only not God’s ideal, it was a series of painful lessons to show us the limits of force and law. God was proving to us that legality and favoritism does not work.

To drive this point home, the Son of God became the Son of man, not so Infinity could learn, but so that we could see He really knows us and sympathizes with us and feels our pain and understands our difficulties.

“We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:9-10)

In His life and temptations, Jesus endured every possible stress and temptation which pressures us. In His death, He suffered each of our deaths. This was necessary for us to believe.

“Wherefore in all things it was needful for him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:17-18)

One of the first conclusions we make in the middle of our personal sufferings is that no one understands. This is exactly why Jesus did more than just die on a cross. He was born in a cattle stall, grew up in an evil and unknown town, suffered solitary temptation in the wilderness, endured persecution by leadership, wrestled with eternity in a garden, and was betrayed and forsaken by His own followers. He did all this not for show, but to earn our trust and respect.

“For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Many thing they must punish themselves, do mighty deeds, and inflict internal and external pain on themselves to earn God’s love. But God made the painful first step to come down and earn our love.

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the atonement for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

God neither enjoys pain nor wants pain, but He wants us.

I cannot be with someone who takes pleasure in inflicting pain on me, someone who can’t love me. — E.L. James

The healthy man does not torture others — generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers. — C.G. Jung

The blessed in the kingdom of heaven will see the punishments of the damned, in order that their bliss be more delightful for them. — Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas is considered to be one of the formative theologians of the church. Yet, here he cloaks sadism in a false robe of holiness. What twisted, demented logic! Perfection is made more perfect by painful imperfection? Why don’t we all become sadists to become innocent worshipers? No wonder people reject God when they think God and His word is like this.

A disposition to cause pain, whether to our fellowmen or to the brute creation, is satanic. — E.G. White

Sadism is not an infectious disease that strikes a person all of a sudden. It has a long prehistory in childhood and always originates in the desperate fantasies of a child who is searching for a way out of a hopeless situation. — Alice Miller

Once upon a time a thief stopped a man. The thief pointed his knife at the man’s heart, “Give it to me, mine is failing.” The man reminded the thief that his heart would not last much longer. “I don’t care,” said the thief, “I will get another one after yours.” With those words he lunged forward.

The man jumped back. The thief swiped and the man dodged. This dangerous, bloody dance lasted so long that the man could predict the next move, but the thief was still able to back him down a dark alley.

Until Jesus appeared.

In Christ’s shining hands was a golden heart and a golden knife. “Give Me your heart,” requested Jesus.

The man had never met the Son of God before and had many questions. They walked slowly out of the alley while Jesus patiently answered questions. On a hill by a tree under the crystal blue sky, the man said, “OK. Take my heart."

In just the right places at just the right depths, the Surgeon performed the delicate operation. The pain was excruciating, but finally the old heart was out and the golden heart was in. The man positively glowed with heavenly life! A new, living man was born out of the old, dead man.

“A woman when she is in travail has sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” (John 16:21)

Why is the thief’s knife so scary and yet millions of people lay down on the operating table and trust themselves to the surgeon’s knife? Both cause pain. What makes the difference?

Are not the knives, the knife wielders, and the purposes different? In one case the pain is unbearable, but in the other, the pain is tolerable.

We run from the attacker’s knife, but we submit to the surgeon’s scalpel because the surgeon has our welfare at heart. His knife is as small as possible and he will use it as little as possible.

But he needs to use it. Why? To satisfy his sadistic urges or to remove our cancer?

If he is removing the disease in us (which he did not cause), then is he causing our pain or is the disease causing our pain? After all, it is our choice to submit, or not, to the surgeon’s scalpel?

So is the ultimate problem the disease, or the pain that alerts us of the disease, or the pain that accompanies healing that encourages us not to get the disease again?

If the disease of sin had no pain, would we turn from it? Would we seek escape from it? Or would we revel in its temporary pleasure on our way to total destruction?

Evil pain can have a good purpose.

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” (Proverbs 27:6)

“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty: For he makes sore, and binds up: he wounds and his hands make whole.” (Job 5:17-18)

“Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” (John 15:2)

In the above texts is God attacking us or healing us?

But, you ask, why can’t God heal us without pain?

Let’s consider for a moment what pain really is. It is the opposite of pleasure. So we start with that.

“You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fulness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Psalms 16:11)

The original universe was designed, created, and operated for positive perfection. Thoughts, feelings, words, actions, environments, relationships, everything was positively perfect. I use the adjective, positive, because intelligent beings were given the choice between positive and negative.

Also, God built redeeming influences into the universe in case someone misused their choice. He chose that so instant annihilation was not automatic. Our Father wanted to give His children a chance to return from the negative in which they had no previous experience.

Therefore the wages of sin is death (anti-life), but not instantly and completely. Just as different good choices result in different pleasures, so various evil choices result in various anti-pleasures (pain). It must be that way because the body-soul system is broken and if God rewards sin the same as love, then there ceases to be sin.

The way of the righteous is pleasant, “but the way of the transgressor is hard.” (Proverbs 13:15)

There must be an opposite difference between positive and negative, otherwise there is no positive and negative! If good and evil are the same thing, then there is only a murky blending and there is no real choice.

When good stops working, we call that evil, failure, damage, destruction, death. The physical and spiritual side effects of that breakdown is pain, suffering, loss, separation, despair, isolation.

Therefore, pain is not the cause of evil. Evil is the cause of pain.

But what about those texts that imply God causes pain?!!

He causes pain only in the secondary sense.

The surgeon can painlessly remove your cancer if you are sedated or if you have no nervous system. In the spiritual world, sedation cannot work because we need to consciously make decisions for or against good. If we have no nervous system, then we cannot experience, enjoy, and describe good.

With that in mind, let’s watch the Spiritual Surgeon at work.

“So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah love you me more than these? He said unto him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He said unto him, Feed my lambs. He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonah love you me? He said unto him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He said unto him, Feed my sheep. He said unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonah love you me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, love you me? And he said unto him, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-17)

Did Jesus know that Peter would be grieved the third time? Of course He did. Did Jesus ask Him the third question in spite of that? Of course He did. So did Jesus cause Peter pain? Of course He did—in a secondary sense.

Jesus had to ask the question three times because Peter denied Christ three times and so the other apostles had to hear Peter’s answer three times. If that could have been accomplished without pain, then Jesus would have chosen another way. However, the sincere expression of pain helped both Peter and the apostles to know his full repentance. Therefore, Peter primarily caused his own pain by deranging his system and then repairing it again.

Our view of pain is rooted in whether or not God is really our attacker or surgeon, and whether we perceive Him as our attacker or surgeon. Let’s look at how David perceived Him.

“And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beg you O LORD, take away the iniquity of your servant; for I have done very foolishly. For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus says the LORD, I offer you three things; choose you one of them, that I may do it unto you. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto you in your land? or will you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you or that there be three days‘ pestilence in your land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a tight place: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.” (2 Samuel 24:10-15)

David’s perception was in line with reality. The evil environment of this world is our attacker. Our enemies are our attackers. Our mortal bodies are our attackers. David chose to fall into the hand of the Lord because the mercies of the Surgeon are great, even though they are painful.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:18-23)

We did not willingly submit to evil. Adam and Eve were deceived. God did not willingly submit us to the pain of evil in the sense of sadistic pleasure or arbitrary punishment. He did it out of necessity because our hard hearts only learn the hard way.

But notice something else. The whole creation is in pain, not just humans on this fallen planet. God submitted Himself and the universe to pain. Every time we sin, every time we suffer, the entire universe experiences imperfection. That is a derangement of the perfect harmonies. Pain results.

Now we are prepared to read this next text from a different point of view.

“But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.” (Lamentations 3:32-33)

Jesus grieved Peter, but only to the degree necessary. God afflicted David and Israel, but only to the degree necessary. If God is at all compassionate, then that is the only way to make sense of God’s sometimes strange, painful acts.

“There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Our heavenly Father and Savior and Comforter is our surgeon, not attacker.

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” (Hebrews 12:1-4)

Pain is not the problem, but it is a problem and it is part of the solution. Focusing on pain, like focusing on evil, is never good. Listening to pain, then comparing our choices to Scripture is healthy. Resting in the arms of our Savior when the pain will not quit is healthy. Following Jesus more closely when pain would tempt us to stray is healthy.

Persisting through the pain knowing that Jesus is with us in the fire and knowing that the fire will be swallowed up one day in glory is our only hope. Never give up. This was the painful lesson of Jacob.

“And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaks. And he said, I will not let you go, except you bless me. And he said unto him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:24-28)

Triumpant Israel limped the rest of his life because of the painful injury he suffered. He rested on a walking stick wherever he went. From that night forward, he rested his full weight upon his Lord and Savior.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

For now, these are bits of courage, but book three is entirely about the steps of transformation that lead us through pain to that glorious place of exceeding joy.

The book of Job (rhymes with robe) is an amazing and instructive look behind the scenes of the cosmic conflict between right and wrong.

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and shunned evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” (Job 1:1-5)

God honored Job by calling him perfect and upright. That perfection flowed out in love to his children.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, From where come you? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Have not you made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? you have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has and he will curse you to your face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” (Job 1:6-12)

The scene changes from Job’s residence to God’s throneroom in heaven. Apparently, we see all the leaders of the unfallen worlds gather for a meeting with God. Satan also came in the place of fallen Adam.

Satan is confident he has the whole earth on his side, but God confidently points an exception—Job. Satan wants to overthrow that exception, but limits are placed on him. God is managing the pain that Job is about to feel.

“And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell you. Then Job arose, and tore his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:13-22)

Of course, Job knows nothing of the council in heaven nor of Satan’s false accusation nor of the limits placed on the devil. In shock and grief, the patriarch falls to the ground in utter pain of soul. Yet, he is not entirely overwhelmed. Though all is a mystery to his mind, he trusts that God has a plan of ultimate good.

“Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From where come you? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? and still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:1-10)

Job’s children and riches were wiped out. His wife’s support had totally collapsed. His body was tortured with boils from head to toe. Every external, earthly support had been removed. Yet, “in all this did not Job sin with his lips.” He was not merely following the rules or saying good things about God out of fear. Job sincerely believed and fully trusted that God was managing his pain. As bad as things were, Job felt the best place to be was in God's hands.

Yet, God did not inflict the pain. We know that Satan caused all of it. However, God made a choice to allow and limit. God deflected the devil’s knife to the place and depth of ultimate benefit to Job. Even though Job was unaware of what happened behind the scences, he gave God the credit for both the good and the evil. And he was right, for in all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s experience shows us that knowledge of the details is not required for faith. Whether our pain is from God’s judgment, from Satan’s probing, from effects of another’s crime, or from our own sin, God will place limits on our pain so that our faith and/or repentance may be purified.

 

“I form the light, and create darkness:

I make peace, and create evil:

I the LORD do all these things.

Drop down, you heavens, from above,

and let the skies pour down righteousness:

let the earth open,

and let them bring forth salvation,

and let righteousness spring up together;

I the LORD have created it.“ (Isaiah 45:7-8)

 

The evil God creates is not the primary evil of choosing sin. God creates evil only in the sense that He shapes and directs the consequences of sinful choices. He does this for the sole purpose of bringing about righteousness. Job became a shining example of God’s sustaining grace both to the onlooking universe and to us today. Whether or not we understand the tunnels we go through, Job tells us that there is light at the end.

But, you ask, what about the innocent bystanders of sons and daughters and servants?! It appears that God let them die so He could look good!

“The righteous perishes and no man lays it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.” (Isaiah 57:1-2)

The innocent sealed their salvation upon death. The wicked were stopped from further sin and thus spared from further punishment. In both cases, good was maximized and evil was minimized.

What about Job’s innocence?

That is the focus of the rest of the book. Three “friends” come to comfort, then instruct, Job. They are convinced that he did something to deserve his suffering. Perhaps he forgot, they argued, but somewhere in the past he did something that merited this punishment. Job defends himself after each of their speeches and cries out to God for vindication.

At the end of the book, God speaks. He condemns the three friends with the question, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2) God partially vindicates Job by having him pray for the friends and by rewarding him with double of what he had before.

However, God never says that Job was undeserving of the pain he suffered. God merely argues that He can do what He wants because He is powerful and wise. God creates, directs, and limits nature and so, by implication, He can wisely direct and limit pain.

Although the book starts by calling Job, perfect, he had previously sinned at least once in his life. Moreover, he was born into a sinful, mortal world where “all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” (Ecclesiastes 1:14) All of us mortals, unable to do a single truly unselfish deed, deserve nothing more than a short existence of pain and suffering. Job was included, and his short time of suffering was a fraction of the full consequences.

It is the lifeblood flowing from Calvary that makes oases in the desert, streams in dry lands, gardens in the wilderness, and openings in the tunnels. It is His hope for each of us that springs up in each of us and strengthens us to push forward to the end of the tunnel. He is behind us to help us make progress, and He is ahead of us with open arms to draw us to Himself. He makes a way for each of us, then walks and suffers with us through it.

 

“Thus says the LORD that created you O Jacob,

and he that formed you O Israel,

Fear not: for I have redeemed you,

I have called you by your name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you and through the rivers,

they shall not overflow you;

when you walk through the fire,

you shall not be burned;

neither shall the flame kindle upon you.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.“ (Isaiah 43:1-3)

“For thus says the high and lofty One

that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy;

I dwell in the high and holy place,

with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always angry:

for the spirit should fail before me,

and the souls which I have made.“ (Isaiah 57:15-16)

 

The Lord is my Shepherd, my Pain Manager, my Redeemer.

 

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures:

he leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul:

he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for you are with me;

your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:

you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.“ (Psalms 23:1-6)

Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” — C.S. Lewis

Jesus did not suppress one word of truth, but He uttered it always in love. He exercised the greatest tact and thoughtful, kind attention in His intercourse with the people. He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word, never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human weakness. He spoke the truth, but always in love. He denounced hypocrisy, unbelief, and iniquity; but tears were in His voice as He uttered His scathing rebukes. He wept over Jerusalem, the city He loved, which refused to receive Him, the way, the truth, and the life. They had rejected Him, the Saviour, but He regarded them with pitying tenderness. His life was one of self-denial and thoughtful care for others. Every soul was precious in His eyes. While He ever bore Himself with divine dignity, He bowed with the tenderest regard to every member of the family of God. In all men He saw fallen souls whom it was His mission to save. — E.G. White

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

God creates evil only in the secondary sense. It is a necessary side effect of the human condition being corrected and redeemed. If God creates darkness and evil like Satan does, then we are all in big trouble. Instead, God causes us pain and trials with surgical precision to slow us down from further damage, then make us think and turn around. God will never give us more pain than we can bear with Him. Satan tries to pile on the pain to break us.

We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. — C.S. Lewis

Especially with persistent pain and the suffering of the martyr, does God keep shouting after the initial warning? Do body, environment, and enemies have a role to play?

When tribulation comes upon us, how many of us are like Jacob! We think it the hand of an enemy; and in the darkness we wrestle blindly until our strength is spent, and we find no comfort or deliverance. To Jacob the divine touch at break of day revealed the One with whom he had been contending—the Angel of the covenant; and, weeping and helpless, he fell upon the breast of Infinite Love, to receive the blessing for which his soul longed. We also need to learn that trials mean benefit, and not to despise the chastening of the Lord nor faint when we are rebuked of Him. — E.G. White

The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt. — C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

“And every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” From the chosen twelve who had followed Jesus, one as a withered branch was about to be taken away; the rest were to pass under the pruning knife of bitter trial. Jesus with solemn tenderness explained the purpose of the husbandman. The pruning will cause pain, but it is the Father who applies the knife. He works with no wanton hand or indifferent heart. There are branches trailing upon the ground; these must be cut loose from the earthly supports to which their tendrils are fastening. They are to reach heavenward, and find their support in God. The excessive foliage that draws away the life current from the fruit must be pruned off. The overgrowth must be cut out, to give room for the healing beams of the Sun of Righteousness. The husbandman prunes away the harmful growth, that the fruit may be richer and more abundant. — E.G. White

In this life, pain is unavoidable and continual. We suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and failure.

The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not. — C.S. Lewis

When pain is to be born, a little courage helps more than much knowledge, a little human sympathy more than much courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all. — C.S. Lewis

On this earth, can there be pain without hope? hope without pain?

Is the idea that God is your Surgeon new to you? How does it make you feel?

Explain Isaiah 45:7.

How does pain relate to the three types of evil?

God’s hope subjects us to pain. Does that mean He enjoys it?

Is our pain on earth worth the safety and education of the rest of the universe?