Some of us are dealing with crookedness that no one else knows about or maybe no one else fully understands. You have a painful experience which you don’t know how to express or you believe others can’t help you with and so you deal with it privately. You are suffering in silence. In the long run of life, this type of suffering can be the most destructive – like a great ocean wave which keeps on breaking onto your head, tossing you around and never letting up. Or like a slow drip relentlessly torturing you as it endlessly falls on your head.
The good news is that you are not alone. The Bible has something to say to you.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, the apostle Paul describes his own private pain, something he calls a thorn in his flesh. How did he deal with that pain?
First, he rebelled against his pain through prayer. He poured out his heart to God for relief. Then when God’s answer was no, he yielded to God’s plan for his pain. Once he had submitted to God, Paul found a strength in his soul, a grace which gave him greater effect in his service to others.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
Tom Brown is the planting pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Wichita. Tom and his wife, Mandy, have worked together in ministry for 18 years and have four children. More about Pastor Tom Brown