Pain Shapes Us
I was thinking about pain the other day. What is it about pain that typically motivates us more than anything else? Why do we have to hit rock bottom before we have that push to climb back up?
As the Imagine Dragons song goes:
“Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down and build me up, believer, believer
Pain
Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, it came from...
Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer”
I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was eight. My ancestors are pioneers--one of which marched in the Mormon Battalion. While I have been a member most of my life, it wasn't always easy or something I devoutly followed. I truly gained a strong testimony of Christ's teachings and of His infinite atonement only in the last few years.
Pain drives us to change, to repent, to seek help, to turn to God, and to grow. We talk about "pain points" to evoke change - movement away from indecision or stagnation.
Why does joy and pleasure not create the same motivation?
Pain humbles you. Pain reminds you of your vulnerability and fragility. In that pain, we are forced to recognize we must fight or die, kicking in our survival instincts. It's these instincts (and God) that give us the strength to get back up, to fight, to survive and overcome.
Pain shapes us into warriors.
…
“THOU art not yet as Job.”
As I read Joseph Smith’s account of his unlawful imprisonment in Liberty Jail, I could really empathize with his pleas to the Lord to help the Saints in their suffering. At the time, they were heavily persecuted and driven from their homes. The Lord replied, “My son, peace be unto thy soul.; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment…Thou art not yet as Job” (Doctrine & Covenants 121:7, 10)
How often have I pleaded with the Lord to take away my adversity? Remove a trial (or person) from my life? While I have gone through my own hell, I wasn’t tarred and feathered, imprisoned, or murdered as Joseph Smith was. I didn’t face nearly as much suffering and tribulation as Job. I, too, am not yet as Job. Nor have I suffered as Jesus Christ suffered.
In 1 Nephi 20:10 of the Book of Mormon we read, “For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
While it isn’t easy to acknowledge this in the midst of trials, it does put things into perspective. It also taught me that God ALWAYS has my back–even when I don’t recognize it at first. And whether you believe in Him or not, GOD has your back too.
The heartache and hardships I've faced led me to turn to Him. Pain has a way of doing that. Since then, I have gained a personal relationship with my Savior, and have learned to listen and follow the guidance of the Spirit. I know that He loves me and God loves me. And they know and love YOU too.
Sending you love and light,
