Pain & Suffering

The other night I spent talking with two men who made me realize that my pain and suffering is nothing compared to theirs. One is facing prison. One short period of time in his life will put him behind bars for close to a year. He has hurt his family, his friends, his church, and his God but he hasn't lost this group. Yet he remains hopeful that inspite of the discipline he will go through, God will use him in a powerful way. He has ruined his future (at least for full time ministry), yet his faith remains strong. I'm sure there are times he probably wonders, "What have I done?!" What ever happens here is but a mist, a short time. His prison sentence will not be for an eternity. His future includes a forgiving God and the real eternity.

The other man is struggling with drug addiction. He has already spent time in prison and is struggling with staying away from drugs, trying to find his way in the world, and trying to find a merciful God who will guide him and love him. He has lost a wife and the trust of his family. But his family still loves him and is helping him. He has also found good Christian people who love him and will help him in his struggle with drugs and his journey to find God. His pain will be swallowed up by the joy of salvation.

My pain is paltry compared to theirs, yet sometimes I seem to wallow in my own pity. I'm anxious in waiting for answers to my prayers. Waiting for people to respond so that my future wouldn't be quite so uncertain. I'm hopeful that my God will bless me and take me to a better place.

These two men found comfort in each other's experiences. The one facing prison got some good advice about what to do once in prison. He found out that he probably won't complete his whole sentence. He will be paroled within the first year. The other one who is out of prison got to see the faith of the one facing prison. His heart was warmed by how the church embraced this man and his family inspite of his crime. I was amazed at how God used this two to help each other.

Perhaps it would be beneficial for me to experience their pain just for a day, or an hour, or even a minute. Maybe that short time would help me create a new attitude. Maybe that new attitude is just around the corner. Maybe I should just keep on serving and quit thinking about what I'm losing and focus on what I have in Christ. I have so much and God has blessed me with so much. I do look forward to his next set of blessings.