Doug Van Pelt

"The Pain! The Pain!"

That's what that little short guy was really shouting on that show, Reality Island. If it were true, that is.

Job experienced great loss. The pain was immense. In chapter 5, we see that he was reminded that God "wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal."

Whenever pain has come in my life from an individual, it hurt, for sure. It's a drag that we can't call a timeout and go sleep for several months. Like a setback in a football game, we need to obey our coaches to the best of our ability and "suck it up." For a defensive player, there's nothing like a goal-line stand, where you thwart the objectives of the other team. It builds a unity amongst the team and swells your inner being with confidence. When I've been offended by others, I have to rely on what's inside. It's quite a good litmus test to see what we're made out of, actually. Just as a grape produces wine when it's squeezed, we reveal what's on the inside when we are pressed. Forgiveness can be a process that needs to be revisited when bad memories surface, but the healing balm of God's Word and faith that He will sustain you are great helps.

Some people say, "religion is a crutch for the weak," but only a fool will never admit that he sometimes gets weak. I'll take the crutch. I hope that by doing so, I can hug the cross as the actor playing Jesus did in The Passion of the Christ movie. That was such a powerful scene and it underscored how others many times just do not understand the purpose of the cross. That sacrifice makes the discipline we face here seem a lot less earth-ending.

Posted by Doug Van Pelt at March 30, 2005 09:06 AM