No Pain! No Gain!

Last weekend I was laying wood chips around the yard (one of the perks of having a neighbor who is a tree surgeon).  Let me tell you, these wood chips are HEAVY!  I not only had to dig 8 shovels per load, I had to haul them 100 yards up my steep driveway in a heavy wheelbarrow.  I must have repeated this process 100 times.  Clearly, my strength and endurance are returning, but my back, arms and legs are definitely feeling it.  Every time I started up the hill with another load, I heard the words of my high school track coach saying “Just one more hill Kunkle. No pain, no gain”. 

On top of that, I had my 17^th chemo treatment yesterday.  These past 18 months certainly have been a year of suffering.  From the pain of hearing my diagnosis of breast cancer to having a double mastectomy with reconstruction, my year has been a painful one.  Adding to this a serious infection, 2 more surgeries and chemotherapy every 3 weeks, pain has been a part of my reality and life.  The Covid Pandemic is just icing on the cake. 

Indeed, when we suffer, no matter what the cause, we hurt.  So, what is there to “gain” in all this pain?  I think I can speak from experience when I tell you, you have a LOT to gain from your suffering.  I am not talking about the muscle strength and endurance you gain after a painful work out.  The good news is, you can gain God’s comfort.  In the Old Testament of the Bible, God comforted His people as they wandered the desert after their exile in Egypt.  When they disobeyed Him time and time again, He still provided for their needs.  When they came under captivity time and time again, God promised to free them.  Why did God do this?  To show us that God fulfills His promises.  The book of Isiah prepares Israel for the arrival of the Messiah and the Lord’s glory.  Here is what the prophet said in Isaiah 40:1-4

“Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord^[a];
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.^[b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.”

Isiah tells Jerusalem that its pain is coming to an end when the Lord comes and the His glory will replace her misery.  The promised Messiah was indeed coming.  He would arrive nearly 1,500 years later in the form of a little baby, born in a Bethlehem stable.  This miracle birth made God’s comfort complete in the form of Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21).  But this baby did not come to lead God’s people to victory through battle.  He came to lead them to glory through His own life and death.  Jesus came to provide forgiveness of sins for all people and to bring us back into a right relationship with God. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)

I have been showered by God’s mercies many times in the midst of my suffering and pain this year.  I have seen God’s comfort through people, their cards, flowers, candy and words of encouragement.  I have been comforted by God’s Word. I do not deserve any of the mercies my Lord and Savior has shown me.  I especially don’t deserve the forgiveness of sins He has offered me through his own sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary.  But, what a comfort it is to me to know my Lord understands my suffering and my pain, because He too suffered very, very much for us.  Why did Jesus Christ suffer for us?  So that we would not have to.  He suffered so our sins would be forgiven by God.  Jesus suffered temptation in the wilderness, but He never gave in to sin during His suffering (Hebrews 4:14-16).

I don’t know for certain what the future holds for me.  I do know some things.  I won’t be going to Wales in 2 weeks.  I have one final chemo treatment.  Many more doctor appointments to make in the future. But none of that matters. I for one consider it a privilege to suffer for Christ.  No pain, no gain.  It is true.  Through Christ’s pain and His death, I have gained eternal life in Heaven.  Through my pain, I can suffer like Jesus.  Why? So that I can depend not on my doctors, my own strength or my medicines, but on the strength and comfort of my Heavenly Father. 

Dear friends:  If you are suffering right now, I know firsthand you may feel abandoned.  You may feel forgotten by friends, family or even God.  I pray you will turn to Jesus.  He will give you comfort that He alone can offer.  “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). It may be my journey, but it is for His glory!