When Pain Leads To Transformation
None of us enjoy pain. It doesn't matter if it's physical or emotional pain, we prefer to want to avoid it at all costs.
If we break a leg or have major surgery, we are offered pain medication. But, what we do with our emotional pain is different for each person. Some self-medicate. Others fake it telling themselves and others, "I'm ok." There was a time in evangelical church culture, that believers were taught it was a negative confession or a lack of faith to acknowledge sickness or even discuss a concern or a fear.
That was then and this is now.
In this short article, I want to offer some meaningful spiritual insights that may help you and others find relief and even lean into the emotional pain to discover the root cause and its purpose.
Emotional pain is a good indicator that something needs to be addressed. There are a variety of ways we try to approach it.
We can avoid it, which I don't recommend.
We can do it with a friend that will hold space for us.
We can use Google to gain knowledge privately.
We can see a therapist (or a heart-centered coach like me)
What if we saught the heart of God for how He wants to walk with us during times of discouragement, loss, and unforeseeable events? When we need comfort, a bible study on comfort won't suffice. We need ongoing encounters that help us make it through to the other side.
I found it necessary to incorporate curiosity in my quest for relief. In doing so, my understanding of God radically changed. What do I mean by becoming curious? When my regular routines didn't suffice, I looked for additional ways to honor my faith and knowledge of human behavior. There were several things that came in to focus. You can't think your way out of emotional pain. You have to let God into part of your heart that is in pain. That was just the beginning!
Along the way, I read articles and books that helped me understand that pain could become an opportunity for emotional healing and transformation. That meant if I leaned into the process, I would become more like the image of God that I was originally intended to be. We all can agree that life's problems have a way of changing us. God wants to restore what was altered and twisted. Think of it this way, God had intentions for you and me that included an a unique expression of Himself. That expression includes the work of His transforming grace making your story a testimony!
I also took a few workshops that showed me how to meet God by asking Him questions. They were questions like "God what are you after in my heart?" This may be a new concept for you. But if you read the Psalms, you'll notice David asked God questions as searched for the meaning of his suffering and cried out for relief.
There's only one thing that can stop us from recognizing that God is answering our prayers and questions and that's unbelief. Are you unsure you hear from God? He will speak in vision, through a spontaneous God's thoughts and by conveying a message of peace in His presence. It isn't meant for only the superspiritual. Intimacy with God is for all. It's deeply personal, beautiful, and life-giving.
If you lean into the process, you will be changed, grow spiritually, undergo transformation, experience the life-giving relationship that is promised, and be a living testimony.
If you would like to take the healing and transformation journey with Lisa to send her an email to request a no-cost consultation.