“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10a
2017 was a very painful year for our family. I know our family is not alone with feeling the pains of this world. Pain takes many forms, and effects each person and families differently. Pain can be physical, emotional, and/or spiritually driven. Plus, the root cause of the pain can be from a multitude of things. Whether it be from a loss (person, job, possession, etc.) or a gain (new medical diagnosis, or time being stretched from a new obligation, etc.). Our perception of pain tends to have a negative connotation, but may these words be a form of encouragement. May you recognize that you’re not alone. The struggle is real, but it is ALL for the Lord’s glory.
On January 26th, 2017, while walking around Barnes and Noble, I started to experience the worst headache I have ever had. This headache continued to progress to a point that I couldn’t physically move my head, and no intervention was helping. I spent the entire night tossing and turning to find some comfort, but there was none. Long story short, after many doctor visits and a multitude of tests, I was diagnosed with a spontaneous CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) leak. A very rare disorder where my spinal cord leaks spinal fluid, which in turn leaves my brain not having enough fluid to support it up. This causes my brain to put pressure on my spinal cord, and this is where the pain comes from. There hasn’t been a pain free day for the past year. This has been a life changing experience for myself and our family. At different points over the past year this pain affected me physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and in turn, started affecting all those around me.
Enough of the medical stuff, lets turn to what the Lord has revealed through all of this! He is so amazing, and without having that relationship with Him, this past year would have gone a lot differently. Psalm 46: 10a “Be still, and know that I am God”; has taken a whole new meaning in our home. Being still is a hard thing to do. As a child we are told to be still, or … (consequence). As an adult, being still becomes even harder. We have jobs to do, people to take care of, bills to pay, etc. There’s no opportunity to “be still”, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves, and it’s the lie we believe to justify our actions.
“Be still” isn’t the only part of that verse, and the rest of it is what tends to be forgotten, “and know that I am God”. God doesn’t tell us to be still and forget about us or leave us. He reminds us of who He is, and whom we need to be still in. Being still isn’t a time to rest from everything, but an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord. It’s the time to give the storms of this life over to the hands that can control it, instead of trying to figure it out and handle it on our own.
I encourage you all to read all of Psalm 46. “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1. He is our refuge and strength, we just need to be still in His presence. It’s so important to take the time (no matter how crazy life may get) to be in the Lord’s presence daily. Putting on the full armor of God daily (Ephesians 6: 13-18).
This is what the Lord revealed to me about what PAIN is:
Persistent
Alienation
Influencing
Negativity
This is what the Lord revealed to help treat it:
Presence with the Lord
Arming yourself with God’s word
Intercepting the flaming arrows of lies
Never giving up hope
Pain takes on a whole different meaning when you glorify the Lord in and through it. May His peace and presence lead you through a blessed 2018.
– Jessica