Is your pain God's will?

Luke 22:42..."Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done." In the Old Testament, the cup is often used as the symbol of divine wrath against sin. On the very next day, Jesus Christ would bear the sins of many and the fullness of divine wrath would fall on Him. This was the price of sin that He, Jesus, bore, and He paid it in full. His cry of anguish in Matt. 27 ("My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?") expresses the extreme level of bitterness of the cup of wrath He was given. This does not imply that there was any conflict between the will of the Father and the will of the Son. It was a perfectly normal expression of His humanity that He shrank from the cup of divine wrath. Those of us who experience pain on a daily basis have some of the same normal expressions as we live our humanity. But even though the cup was ugly and painful beyond perception, He willingly took it, because it was the will of the Father.

Have you ever wondered if what you are experiencing is the will of the Father? Is it possible that there is something or someone at work producing something far greater than your comfort from pain? I experience pain that, at some times, literally brings me to tears and still I know that there are others out there in far worse shape than I am. I want so strongly, to follow the will of the Father, no matter how much is hurts. What we see in this prayer is that Jesus was consciously, deliberately, and voluntarily turning over all of His human desires to the Father's perfect will. So there was no conflict between the Father and the Son, or between the deity of Christ and His human desires. I see so much more of the Father in my life when I turn "my desires" over to His will.

Today, you are reading this devotion and you don't know how to get the hurt to stop and the peace to flow within your spirit. The level of pain is so intense you cannot concentrate on Jesus or the Father or spiritual matters at all. You need to close your eyes and allow the next verse (22:43..."Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.") to minister to you. Realize that your situation may have far reaching consequences to others as they see you carry your cross. I'm not speaking "out of school." I know exactly what I am talking about and have a pretty good idea of what you are feeling. You can't fix it. So why not ask God to comfort you while you experience it? You'll be blesses and so may someone else.

I pray that God would be just the ointment you need today.

Dave