Please Make the Pain Go Away - Girlfriends in God

January 12, 2016
Please Make the Pain Go Away
Gwen Smith

Today’s Truth

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1, NIV)

Friend to Friend

As the basketball game heated up and the man-to-man coverage got up close and personal, he took an elbow to the ear. Seconds later his world went silent on the trauma side. Stunned, he continued to play and pointed to his ear as he ran down the court telling his coach about the situation.

“I can’t hear in my left ear!”

Wait, what? I read his lips from the stands and wondered if I accurately interpreted what my son had just communicated. (My stomach did the I-hate-when-my-kids-get-hurt twist.)

“I think he just told coach that he can’t hear out of his left ear!?” I said to the friend beside me.

My guess proved to be accurate.

Preston came out of the game and spoke with the athletic trainer. She listened to the recap of what happened, evaluated his ear, and then allowed him to go back in the game since he wasn’t in pain and no bleeding was visible. He finished the game in an oddly muted reality.

We got home late with our tall, tired teen and decided that we would get him in to see a doctor if his hearing didn’t come back or improve by the next day.

Morning did not bring the healing we had hoped for so we headed to the urgent care.

The doctor listened to the accident recap and then looked inside Preston’s ear. He saw through the tympanic membrane and quickly identified the source of the silence: bloody fluid had puddled on the other side of his eardrum due to the blunt force of the trauma.

The bad news? There was no immediate solution for the hearing loss. An invasive procedure could be done by a specialist, but wasn’t recommended.

The good news? He said that Preston’s hearing should return and his ear will eventually heal. His body will absorb the fluids over time. We just have to wait. It could take a few days. Possibly even a few months.

The diagnosis was as much sweet as it was bitter, but honestly we were hoping for a quicker solution. A speedier healing. A faster resolve.

#mylife

Make the pain go away, Lord! Now. Now. NOW!

I like things to happen right away. {You too?}

When our hearts are wounded from unexpected relationship traumas, we want to click a simple prayer button and make everything whole and well.

When questions are many and answers are few we want vision for a mile but often get just enough sight for the next step.

When our over spending choices slash us like falling prices, we try to throw a little sanitizing scripture on the gash of our debt and get out of it in the microwave minute of extended credit.

But life doesn’t work that way. Freedom doesn’t work that way. Quick faith fixes are not a biblical guarantee. Healing often takes time… and sometimes it doesn’t look like we want it to look. The way we think it should look.

Yes. God does sometimes rescue and bring us healing immediately, but He’s not obligated to. He’s God, He’s able, and He’s sovereign. Remembering this helps me to trust Him when life gets scary and stressful.

I think on this and a barrage of questions flood my mind.

Are there really life-impacting lessons to be learned in this lingering?

What if God wants to use the strains, stains and disappointments we face to refine us – restore us – strengthen us – and to draw us to His side in the desperation?

What if God’s plan is to teach us to know Him in new ways as we struggle to hear, to hope, and to heal?

What if instant healing or quick answers would rob me of greater depth?

If these “what if” wonderings are on point then I’m all for the waiting. Because I really do want to be a woman of depth. Don’t you? Isn’t that what faith is all about? The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen? (Hebrews 11:1)

If I always get what I hope for right away and can always see clearly, then how will my faith grow?

Preston is waiting on his healing and I pray that the lessons we learn will be rich along the way. And in the waiting of each trial, you and I will grow in faith as we lean in closely to listen to the whispers of the One who is compassionate, faithful, and trustworthy.

Let’s Pray

Lord, Please forgive me for the times when I tell You how to fix me. You are the all-knowing One. You are the all-powerful One. You are the God of all wisdom, grace, compassion and strength. I need You, Lord, and I choose right now to trust the plan of healing You have for me and for my loved ones. Thank You, Father.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Read Hebrews 11 and take a walk down history’s holy halls of faith.

Write a “by faith” statement for your life. What would you like to be written about you in the archives of humanity? {Share your “by faith” statement with me here!}

More from the Girlfriends

My next book, I Want It ALL, is now available for pre-order. Here’s the burden in my belly: I believe that you were created to be a woman of impact who is so in love with her Lord and so aware of His might that she cannot help but expect great things and move in His power and grace. That’s the message of I Want It ALL. Pre-order yours today from Amazon, Barnes & Nobleor ChristianBook.com.