31 Days - Day 15 - Moods (Pain and Sorrow)

There is a saying that to be a soldier means to endure long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.  I wonder if life itself is like that.  There are long periods of pain and sorrow punctuated by moments of joy.

Richard Henry Stoddard understood the trials of life.

Joy may be a miser,

  But Sorrow's purse is free.

I had two griefs already,

  He gave two more to me.

He filled my eyes with water,

  He filled my heart with pain;

And then, the liberal fellow,

  He promised to again.

~Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903)

How should we handle pain?  That's one of the big questions of life.  Why do bad things happen to good people? (The answer to that is that there are no good people, and no bad things, because God will work everything out for our good and His glory.  But that's a topic for another blog post.)

The problem of pain is that it refuses to be ignored, and it never lets up.  Pain continues to fester and grow.  Whether it's the physical pain of a broken bone, the worrisome pain of wars and sickness in our own country or abroad, or the emotional pain of injustice or murder or abuse that we witness, in our own life or in the life of a another.

C.S. Lewis wrote a book about "The Problem of Pain."  Heath McNease turned it into a song.  

You can download the entire album here:  The Weight of Glory.

Here are the lyrics which Heath McNease explains in this video.

Is it safe to say

Is it safe to say

That only the pure of heart will ever see God?

But if heaven's a lie, if heaven's a bribe,

Then purity's lost and I am a fraud.

The problem of pain:

It insists that you quietly watch it spread,

And attack your insides.

I lost my faith in everyone I know - 

They're always out for something more

There's nothing more of mine to take away

Except my name

No answers for the problem of this pain

Is it safe to say

Is it safe to say

It rains on the pure of heart and wicked the same?

But if heaven's a lie, if heaven's a bribe

Then mine is a desperate plea to a powerless name.

The problem of pain

It insists that you quietly watch it spread,

And attack your insides.

I lost my faith in everyone I know-

They're always out for something more

There's nothing more of mine to take away

Except my name

No answers for the problem of this pain.

Is it safe to say

Is it safe to say

That if I wrote "darkness" on the walls of my cell

The sun would still shine

Your glory would blind as much as it ever did,

And all would be well?

It's ridiculous to think that writing "Darkness" on the wall of a cell could diminish the glory and brilliance of Almighty God in any way.  It's also safe to say that even though this life is filled with all sorts of pain, the pain will not come close to the weight of glory that we will see when we, the pure in heart, one day come face to face with this same Almighty God.  He is in control of the rain and sends it to fall on the just and the unjust. He metes out justice in His time.  He sends enough joy into our lives to keep us from being overburdened by sorrow, and He is with us in the midst of every trial.

That's not to say that we don't get grouchy from time to time, because of the pain.

I like a good grouch when I get it,

Sea-deep and dark indigo blue.

~Anthony Euwer

But remember, God will work ALL things together for good to those who love Him.

There are gains for all our losses,

  There are balms for all our pain.

~Richard Henry Stoddard

How about you?  Do you experience life as long periods of sorrow or pain punctuated by brilliant flashes of joy?  Have you developed a theology of pain?  Do you understand that this world, for the Christian, is NOT our home?  We are just passing through.