Lose the Fear of Pain....

....gain the freedom of facing it.

Arterburn (2007) excerpt:

Physical pain is necessary to our functioning. It is part of God's design for our bodies because it signals there is a problem to which we should attend. Emotional pain is similar. It signals there is a problem God wants to heal. When we see emotional pain as the symptom that leads us to depend on God and turn to Him for healing, we begin to understand its purpose.

But think about the times in your life when you have grown the most. Were they during mountaintop experiences or in the lows of the valleys?

You can rely on God. He won't always protect you from horrible situations or difficult emotions, but He will always sustain and protect His children from hopelessness.

Let your emotional pain lead you to Him.

Arterburn makes a valid point: pain (physical or emotional) drives us to attend to an issue. Pain is a part of our human experience and either we embrace it and attend to the issue or we suffer a greater demise.

The best question...is your pain leading you to a greater dependence upon God or is it driving you in the opposite direction?

The moment we begin to lose the fear of pain and begin to embrace it, there is a new found freedom. It's in the process of attending where true healing can begin.

Remember, Arterburn is writing within the context of seven keys to loosing burdens....surrender was the first, acceptance is the one that covers this and the previous post. The previous post encouraged us to stop lying to ourselves and begin accepting reality. This post reminds us that pain is a normal part of life and that just like we attend to physical pain, we must also attend to emotional pain; and in so doing, freedom is the reward.

Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. Psalm 126:5