Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Every week, I rely on the Lord to reveal our study topic. As usual, out of nowhere, “pain” popped into my head. That means there is a reason for this topic, and I have come to know that someone reading this will be comforted by these passages. Moreover, I am always thrilled to receive emails saying this study was “what they needed” or similar. So I say, “If through His Word, God uses me to help others, I am blessed.”
From the beginning of humankind, pain has been part of the human experience, making it a central theme in the Bible. The first mention of pain appears in Genesis 3, a consequence of the Fall of Man. (See Vol. 110.) After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, pain has plagued us all. God’s punishment was severe:
“To the woman He said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children’” (Genesis 3:16).
God told Adam that working to produce food from the ground would be painful:
“And to Adam He said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen.3:17-19).
Pain was not part of God’s original design. However, because Adam and Eve engaged in prideful behavior, pain disrupted the harmony God had intended for His creation. Therefore, pain is not only physical but also present in all broken relationships between humans and God and among humans against one another throughout the world.
In the following passage, God speaks of human conflict and the conflict between God and evil, represented by the snake (the “he”) who tempted Eve:
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
The pain that Adam and Eve were going to suffer stemmed from their behavior. But in the future, pain can afflict those who love and obey God and play by the rules. A prime example of suffering by someone blameless was Job:
“He feared God and shunned evil,” and “He was the greatest man among all the people of the east” (Job 1:1-3).
The boundaries of Job’s suffering and pain were arranged and defined after this eye-opening conversation between the Lord and Satan. Afterward, Job lost everything one can lose in life, in addition to his physical trauma:
“The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest” (Job 30:17).
Like all understanding, our understanding of pain is limited compared with God’s all-knowing wisdom. In Job’s case, he remained faithful and, in the end, was made whole. But when people suffer physical or mental anguish, especially those who “don’t deserve it,” all we can do is pray and be there to comfort them. St. Paul wrote:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
James offers a “how to help” action plan for those who are sick:
“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:14-16).
Paul wrote much about pain because of his extensive suffering, which Jesus revealed that Saul/Paul would experience after his Road to Damascus conversion.
“For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:16). Read more here.
Paul’s passages on pain are viewed through the lens of Christ, because at the center of Christianity is a suffering Savior who died for our sins:
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us “ (Romans 5:3-5).
Let’s be honest, for the average person of faith, reconciling pain by comparing it to Christ’s suffering is a stretch. Paul takes the most optimistic view in these two verses:
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Next, Paul writes about his chronic painful ailment and unique way of dealing with it:
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He [Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). (See Vol. 71 for more discussion.)
Peter mirrors Paul’s theme about sharing your pain and suffering with Christ:
“Rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-19).
Giving or sharing your pain with Jesus and focusing on the glory that is to come sounds like a plan, but it is for those with the strongest faith. My faith is strong, but is it strong enough for the verses we have read? I can tell you that when I faced severe medical issues, I prayed often, and I know those who love me lifted me up as well. Is your faith strong enough to rejoice in your suffering?
Finally, we all look forward to the following verse, the promise that earthly pain is temporary and that God’s ultimate plan is perfection.
“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” (Revelation 21:4). Amen!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer. Her book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible" reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2," reprints Vols. 57 –113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. You can help support our new exhibit in Orlando, Florida. Contact: Myraadams01@gmail.com