With PAIN comes COMFORT
Notes
Transcript
While I was thinking of a message to bring to the group, a few ideas came to mind. But it finally came to me. In my notes I actually wrote the title for this message this past weekend as i was preparing and researching. My intention was not to use those words for the title. This past Monday a brother told me, “God will give you the message HE wants you to speak on. It could change at at any time. He could “flip the script.” And it did. My initial title was : PAIN. But the final title is: With PAIN comes COMFORT.
While I was thinking of a message to bring to the group, a few ideas came to mind. But it finally came to me. In my notes I actually wrote the title for this message this past weekend as i was preparing and researching. My intention was not to use those words for the title. This past Monday a brother told me, “God will give you the message HE wants you to speak on. It could change at at any time. He could “flip the script.” And it did. My initial title was : PAIN. But the final title is: With PAIN comes COMFORT.
“Explain why i chose to talk about pain” (ie, us men put a mask on when we are in pain, whether mentally emotionally, or physically. We respond with, “IM GOOD,” as we are smiling but truly hurting inside, or we keep the pain to ourselves). I’m guilty of that 100%. A real life example for me is, MY wife, who I adore, told me on numerous occasions: “JUST TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL OR WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. YOU DON’T SAY ANYTHING TO ME.” To be honest, those words bothered me. So as I began to release my pain by talking to her, then WE BOTH received comfort, like a weight was lifted off of our shoulders. So “With PAIN comes COMFORT!”
“Explain why i chose to talk about pain” (ie, us men put a mask on when we are in pain, whether mentally emotionally, or physically. We respond with, “IM GOOD,” as we are smiling but truly hurting inside, or we keep the pain to ourselves). I’m guilty of that 100%. A real life example for me is, MY wife, who I adore, told me on numerous occasions: “JUST TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL OR WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. YOU DON’T SAY ANYTHING TO ME.” To be honest, those words bothered me. So as I began to release my pain by talking to her, then WE BOTH received comfort, like a weight was lifted off of our shoulders. So “With PAIN comes COMFORT!”
Now I’m going to share a picture of my Eagles blanket and explain how the blanket comforts me, but i also see pain. I’ll explain the worse pain I felt at the end of this message, which involves the blanket. AND NO, NOBODY STOLE MY FAVORITE BLANKET. LOL.
Now going back to the title of this message. While researching scripture and the definition of PAIN it says: a sense of physical suffering or distress (ie mental, physical, and emotional). I also noticed in scripture that AFFLICTION (something that causes pain or suffering) was used as well, they were interchanged. Now, the DEF OF COMFORT says - A STATE OF PHYSICAL EASE & FREEDOM FROM PAIN . SO with he definitions alone, AGAIN: “WITH PAIN COMES COMFORT!” Which leads to the following scripture.
Now I want to read: 2 Corin 1:3-7 , then (speak about verse 4: how it mentions affliction/pain and comfort. God will comfort us as we are in pain, in all aspects of suffering. The words used in the previous verses say “ALL and ABUNDANT”, Not a little or sometimes, but ALL and ABUNDANT. With ALL the affliction/pain we may go through, MORE IMPORTANTLY, we get ALL THE COMFORT from God. Let’s remember that. SO, going back to verse 4, as we suffer, we can comfort those who are suffering. ie walking this faith out and NOT leaving ANY brother behind. This is part of the Christian faith. Also, THIS IS WHAT FIGHT CLUB IS ALL ABOUT. No1 should suffer or go through life alone.
Now being a realist, I have to say this: YES life can hurt and will hurt, BUT we have a loving and comforting Father( 2 Corinthians 1:3), we have a loving and comforting Savior (Matt 11:29-30), and we have a precious Comforter - the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) . I told this next few words to my best friend when he lost his mother and in pain. I told him: REMEMBER, God is faithful, we are the ones who let go of him “when life gets hard” or we go through pain. BUT, his arms are always stretched out and waiting for us to return, just like the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
I would like to end with two quotes: 1. PURPOSE WITH PAIN PULLS US CLOSER TO OUR LORD & SAVIOR.
2. The final quote is FROM TONY EVANS: “THE WORSE THE PAIN GETS, THE DEEPER OUR FOCUS ON THE LORD GETS. (ie verse 4).”
I was told by an elder, “That during their worse times, they fall on their knees, but with their head looking up to the heavens crying out to the Most High God.”
NOW TALK ABOUT THE WORSE PAIN I FELT!!
End with: “SO WITH PAIN COMES COMFORT!! & AS PASTOR BRENDON SAYS: “YOUR STORY IS THE BEST STORY.”
ASK IF ANY1 WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT ANY PAIN THEY FELT??