A Biblical Approach to Overcoming Hurts
Have you ever walked through a situation in life that left you wondering why God would allow you to experience hurt, pain, or even discouragement? There is no doubt that some challenges in life are the result of poor choices. But there are also times when, through no fault of our own, we find ourselves in circumstances and situations that leave us wounded and in pain. For every believer, the reality is that we will walk through hardship and will experience pain in this lifetime.
Jesus told us pain and suffering would be a part of our lives. But he doesn’t leave us to figure out how to overcome these trials and sorrows on our own. Instead, He promises peace to us and in John 16:33 by reminding us to take heart, because He has overcome the world. Every individual God used mightily throughout Scripture went through seasons of hardship.
Moses had to flee his family who wanted to kill him.
Elijah had people seeking his death.
Queen Esther risked her life to save the Jewish people.
Jesus’ disciples were all martyred for their commitment to Christ and our Savior was beaten and crucified for us.
Scripture repeatedly speaks to how our suffering never concludes without God’s power working through it supernaturally. Our pain and suffering often sets us up to see God’s supernatural working and miracles in our lives.
Romans 8:9 reminds us: “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.” Our life’s journey involves more than what we physically see. There is a key to victorious living in every area of our lives. That key can be found abiding in the person of the Holy Spirit. We must live, breathe, move, and remain daily in the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Apostle Paul who experienced much pain and difficulty can boldly declare these words in Romans 8:28,
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
We often look at our lives and believe everything is fine, but we deceive ourselves because our spiritual understanding is limited, and we can see no further than our human vision allows us to see. That’s where most of our anxiety, worry, and insecurity originates.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is at work, within us, healing our wounds, empowering our recoveries, and strengthening us in the midst of enduring pain. He has emotions and feelings just as you and I do. He has a personality in that He loves, comforts, mourns, speaks, and can be offended. His divine characteristics include that
1. He’s called God (Acts 5:3-4).
2. He’s called the Spirit of God (Gen. 1:2; Judg. 3:10).
3. He’s considered God (Acts 28:25–27; 2 Cor. 6:16; Heb. 3:7–9).
4. He’s treated as equal to God the Father and Son (Matt. 3:16; 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:4–6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 2:18; 4:4–6; 1 Pet. 1:2).
5. He’s eternal (Heb. 9:14).
6. He’s self-existent (Rom. 8:2).
7. He’s omnipresent (Psa. 139:7–8).
8. He’s omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10–11; John 14:26; 16:13).
9. He’s sovereign (Zech. 12:10).
10. He was involved with creation (Gen. 1:1–2).
11. He enabled the writing of the Bible (2 Pet. 1:21).
12. He has all knowledge (1 Cor. 2:10-12)
13. He helps us to recognize the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:4).
14. He enables us to call upon Jesus as Lord (1 Cor. 12:13).
Make no mistake, the Holy Spirit is so much more than an it or impersonal force. He is God!
He is Jesus’ personal representative and indwells every believer (I Corinthians 6:19-20). He is a distinct person, just as Jesus was a person who lived among us for 33 years. And the most amazing and humbling reality of all, is that He makes our bodies His temple and He indwells us, empowering us, and guiding us.
How does the Holy Spirit help me in my everyday life?
1. He helps us to set our minds on things above rather than on things that bother us.
Paul wrote, “Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Col. 3:1,2).
2. The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural empowerment to cope with our suffering.
Paul wrote, “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love.” (2 Cor. 6:4-6)
3. The Holy Spirit lifts us above the attitudes of defeatism with His weaponry.
Paul wrote, “In truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.” (2 Cor. 6:7).
What are the weapons of our righteousness?
The Word- “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints, and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Goodness- We are instructed to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Sometimes it seems that evil is more powerful, or at least more prevalent, but it is only temporary. One believer, taking a stand on the side of goodness, can turn back much evil.
Faith- The Old Testament tells of heroes “who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies” (Hebrews 11:33–34). This should not surprise us, since Jesus revealed that even a small amount of faith has enough power to move mountains (Matthew 17:20).
Prayer- “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). Scripture is full of examples of the power of prayer. Summarizing the time of the judges, Nehemiah 9:27 says, “When they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.”
Love- All our other weapons of righteousness are worthless without this one, the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30–31); it is even greater than faith (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Love empowers Christians by uniting us, giving us understanding, encouragement, and joy (Colossians 2:2–3; Philemon 1:4–7). We are to trust in God’s love, and it will protect us from evil (Psalm 17:7; 52:8; 61:7) just as surely as it cleansed us from sin and defeated Satan’s plans against us (Psalm 103:10–12; John 3:16; Revelation 12:10).
4. The Holy Spirit shifts our attention to His glory rather than our own self.
Paul wrote, “Through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report, genuine, yet regarded as impostors.” (2 Cor. 6:8)
5. The Holy Spirit concentrates our focus on achieving God’s purposes rather than our own.
Paul wrote, “Known, yet regarded as unknown; dying and yet we live on; beaten and yet not killed.” (2 Cor. 6:9)
6. The Holy Spirit adjusts our perspectives toward the obtaining of His pleasures rather than our own.
Paul wrote, “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Cor. 6:10)
7. The Holy Spirit changes our interests from our own needs to the making of others rich in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote, “Poor, yet making many rich.” (2 Cor. 6:10)
8. The Holy Spirit takes away the stigma of being poor in this world and honors us with greater identification with Christ.
Paul wrote, “Having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” (2 Cor. 6:10)
9. The Holy Spirit gives us sufficient grace to cope with whatever pain, discomfort, or affliction.
Paul wrote, “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
10. The Holy Spirit will endow you with the peace that is necessary to cope with all your anxieties as you wonder how to cope with pain.
Isaiah wrote, “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge of the fear of the Lord...” (Isaiah 11:2)
How do I overcome pain, hurt, disappointment, anxiety, and go on living each day?
Apostle Paul experienced much pain and difficulty and yet boldly declare these words in Romans 8:28,
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This is a man who underwent beatings, shipwrecks, and multiple imprisonments.
Paul recognizes something that is essential for us to remember as believers that our pain is not meaningless but has a purpose. And not just some situations, he writes in all things. God’s power is working through your pain and suffering, supernaturally in your life.
Regardless of what you’re walking through today or what challenges are ahead, Scripture encourages us to:
1. Bring our pain to God, don’t run from him.
When you run from God in seasons of challenge, all you’re left with is your own limited ability to cope with what you’re walking through. On the other hand, God invites us to draw near to him that we might experience his peace, healing, and closeness and this is what Scripture points us towards.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” (Psalm 34:18)
The Bible never instructs us to suppress our pain, but instead, shows us where to direct it.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)
Like our need for a surgeon to address physical wounds to our body, God desires to conduct divine surgery on our soul which results in supernatural healing despite how difficult our challenge.
When we bring our pain to God we recognize that there is a purpose and in time the One who loves us unconditionally will reveal his divine purpose through it.
2. Fill your life with God’s Word and God’s people.
How we respond to pain and suffering is critical to how we process what’s happening and how healing will take place. If you treat physical sickness with the wrong medication, not only will your sickness continue, but it could become worse.
When you fill your life with God’s Word and surround yourself with God’s people who speak hope and encouragement into your life, your experience will be much healthier.
If you fill your mind with wrong thoughts: “God is mad at me, God is not good, worse things are going to happen, etc.”, you will struggle to experience the peace of God that He promises to us in Scripture (Philippians 4:7).
“How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.” (Psalm 119:103)
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8)
“When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we are reminding ourselves of who our God is, what he’s like, and we replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of our good God.
3. Don’t be filled with worry, overflow with worship.
Something powerful happens when we actively choose to worship through our suffering. We aren’t denying reality, we are simply redirecting our posture from one of worry to one of worship.
Worship changes our perspective. Worship speaks about where our confidence and hope resides. Worship redirects our thinking. Worship places the results in God’s hands.
Whether your pain is the result of relationship challenges, financial struggle, health diagnosis or anxiety about the future, when you begin to worship the Lord through your struggle, spiritual chains begin to break so that you aren’t ruled by your circumstance but you set your sights on something higher. This is why Paul and Silas could praise when chained in prison. They recognized God was using their imprisonment for the spread of the gospel which ultimately resulted in the first New Testament church on the continent of Europe.
4. Believe that God will turn your sorrow into great joy.
Our biggest sorrows can be used of the Lord to minister to others bringing peace and joy. When you think about Jesus’ greatest sorrow, the suffering, shame, punishment, and death for our sins; the result was great joy. His suffering brought about the redemption of humanity and the opportunity for us to have an eternal relationship with the living God.
God uses our pain to strengthen us and encourage others to trust God and believe that he is working despite what we see.
Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:4,
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
Our pain and suffering will not last forever. Jesus willingly suffered the greatest pain because he knew the end of the story, and so do we.
Scripture shows us in Revelation 21:3-4,
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
As you walk through suffering today or in the days to come, remember the words of our Savior Jesus Christ:
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)
“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
Prayers
Lord, I am asking for mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual discipline to focus all of my energies on seeking first your kingdom and your righteousness to overcome my pain.
Lord, help me to experience more of Your supernatural power through the Holy Spirit to lift me above any pain, problem or suffering that is troubling me in the same way Paul experienced victorious empowerment.
Lord, help me be more of an overcomer instead of giving into feelings of depression, defeatism, or disillusionment.
Lord, help me shift more of my mental, social, cultural, economic, educational, physical, and spiritual energies to giving you the greater glory than myself.
Lord, help me be to be more interested in magnifying Your reputation than my own.
Lord, help me find your joy in serving Jesus rather than trying to satisfy my own appetites and pleasures.
Lord, help me be thankful to Jesus for all the riches I enjoy because of Him. Help me to remember that freely I received; therefore, freely I give.
Lord, help me to grow in grace and knowledge of You and help me to cope with difficult, emotional, physical, and mental afflictions. Help me not be ashamed of any weakness, but to understand that You are shouldering and bearing my pain and burdens.
Lord, help me to believe in all of God’s promises. With the power of the Holy Spirit, overshadow my hurts, disappointments, and pain with Your peace that passes all human understanding.