15 Oct When You’re in Pain…Wrestle!

My years of deep suffering came as a big surprise to me. I’d always been in great health and enjoyed a close relationship with God. When my health crisis first hit back in 1997, I was strong spiritually, fully trusting God. But as weeks of suffering turned into months and finally years of pain and seemingly unanswered prayer, I found myself asking, “How can God stand by and watch his dearly-loved daughter suffer for years without intervening? I couldn’t do that to my child. How can he?” Through this, I learned an unusual method of pain management.

An Unexpected Pain Management Method

Whether your pain is physical, emotional, or spiritual, it will help you immensely to talk it through with God, even wrestling with him about it. Because often when you’re in pain, you may be questioning him, actually perturbed, or downright mad at him. It won’t help to bury this. In fact, difficult things that are hidden in the darkness grow and fester, but they lose their power when brought out into the light. So talk to God about your struggles.

 Wrestling involves contending or grappling. Verbal wrestling means engaging with someone in deep thought, consideration, or debate. I’ve found that when I do this with God honestly and humbly (though I have been known to shout at times), I come out relieved and at peace when I work it through with him fully. Through our conversation, he guides my thoughts to a place of rest. My pain is greatly lessened, and even physical pain can be reduced, because emotional and spiritual tension can exacerbate physical suffering.

Important People Have Used Wrestling for Pain Management…

I’ve been encouraged to find that wrestling with God about suffering is a technique used by important historical figures. Job, in the oldest book in the Bible, wrestled from many angles, and in the Psalms, David wrestled over numerous issues with his dearest Friend. And Jacob wrestled with a man representing God, all night, “until daybreak,” until God finally blessed him (Genesis 32).

I’ve found that when you wrestle long enough with God like Jacob, praying and processing fully  “until daybreak,” something blooms inside of you. You become new and improved.  Mandie Ellingson said “The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.”  Bitterness poisons the container in which it is held. Bitterness hurts us in many ways throughout our total being. But becoming “better” heals and improves us, even leading to flourishing!

So, do you need to wrestle with God about something? Do you need to use this form of emotional, spiritual, and physical pain management in your regimen toward overall health? Engage with God in honesty and humility, and I’d love to hear about your outcome.