Sometimes We Have Pain

Psalms 46:1-3,10-11 ESV

“God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

“Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Now, the song at the end of this is a secular song, and if you listen to all of the lyrics you will realize that this is about friend helping friend, and neighbor helping neighbor, and brother and sister helping one another. But this doesn’t always work as ideally as it should, does it? Sometimes those who are supposed to love and care for us turn on us and hate us and treat us despitefully. And it hurts, and we cry, and sometimes we wonder how some people can be so mean spirited and so hard hearted and just not care. 

And this called to mind this verse in Matthew 24:12 ESV:

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

And this passage of Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV:

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

And sadly that is where we are now. And brother is turning against brother, and sister against sister, and neighbor against neighbor, and spouse against spouse, and parents against children, and children against parents, and pastors against their flock, and parishioners against their pastors. And professing Christians are turning against those who are the Lord’s servants and who are following in the ways of God and not in the ways of the flesh. And the godly are being hated while the ungodly are being embraced, etc.

So, if you teach the truth, and if you teach what is right, you are largely going to be ignored, ostracized, rejected, cast aside, mistreated shamefully, and falsely accused of wrongdoing. But if you teach lies and deceptions which tickle itching ears, then you are likely to be embraced, admired and accepted. For so much of what is going on in this world and in the gatherings of what is called “church” is so upside down now. It is all turned inside out. And now good is being spoken of as evil, and evil is being spoken of as good.

And so, if your life is dedicated to following the Lord Jesus with your life, and to doing his will, and to speaking the truth in love to your neighbors and friends and family, and to your fellow professers of faith in Jesus Christ, then you should expect that you are not going to be well liked, and many will turn against you and will hate and reject you. And they will even treat you spitefully, although you have done them no wrong, but only good. But some people will just ignore you and pretend that you don’t even exist.

But God is always there for us, if we are his by genuine faith in him. And he calls us to lean on him when we are not strong, and to make him our refuge and strength in present troubles. And he encourages us that we are not to fear no matter how bad things get, or how horrible things may appear to us at present. And he counsels us to “Be still and know that I am God.” Then we just need to pray through our pain and suffering, and hand it over to the Lord, and forgive those who have hurt us, and just keep on loving others.

For our Lord will be exalted among the nations and in all the earth. And his will is going to be accomplished, regardless of how bleak some things appear right now to us in the present. For he is not asleep. He knows what is going on. And he is still in control, and he is completely sovereign, and he has all things under his commands. So, we just have to trust him with our circumstances, pray through the pain, and lean on him for the strength that we need to carry on, for he is our friend, and he’ll help us to carry on.

Lean On Me

By Bill Withers

Sometimes in our lives

We all have pain

We all have sorrow

But if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me

When you're not strong

And I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrlhn1H1EWw

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