READ: John 16:33
Pain is inevitable. I wish it were not so, but it is. Jesus said matter of factly, “In the world you will have trouble.” That is just the way it is. Two sports talk show hosts were discussing Walter Payton, the all time leading rusher in the NFL. One guy said, “Do you realize that all together he gained nine miles rushing in his NFL career?” And the second guy said, “Yes, and think about it every 4.6 yards of the way someone was knocking him down.” That is how life is. You go along and everything is hunky-dory and then “WHAM” some crisis pops up and knocks you for a loop. “There has been an accident,” “You have cancer,” “I’m leaving you,” “We are cutting back,” “I have to let you go,” a loved one dies, you have this chronic pain, or painful memories haunt you. Life is a long journey, and along the way you are going to get knocked down. The question is, are you going to stay down or are you going to get back up? My favorite quote is, “Pain in inevitable, but misery is optional.” We don’t always get to choose our circumstances but we get to choose our response to our circumstances. It is how you choose to respond to them that defines your life. You can choose misery, or you can chose to trust God. In the midst of the hard stuff of life, choose God.
Pain is inevitable. I wish it were not so, but it is. Jesus said matter of factly, “In the world you will have trouble.” That is just the way it is. Two sports talk show hosts were discussing Walter Payton, the all time leading rusher in the NFL. One guy said, “Do you realize that all together he gained nine miles rushing in his NFL career?” And the second guy said, “Yes, and think about it every 4.6 yards of the way someone was knocking him down.” That is how life is. You go along and everything is hunky-dory and then “WHAM” some crisis pops up and knocks you for a loop. “There has been an accident,” “You have cancer,” “I’m leaving you,” “We are cutting back,” “I have to let you go,” a loved one dies, you have this chronic pain, or painful memories haunt you. Life is a long journey, and along the way you are going to get knocked down. The question is, are you going to stay down or are you going to get back up? My favorite quote is, “Pain in inevitable, but misery is optional.” We don’t always get to choose our circumstances but we get to choose our response to our circumstances. It is how you choose to respond to them that defines your life. You can choose misery, or you can chose to trust God. In the midst of the hard stuff of life, choose God.
– Dr. Tim Thompson