A man went to see a psychiatrist because he was extremely depressed. The psychiatrist just could not get him to snap out of it. So he said to the man, “Tonight I want you to go to the circus in town because they have a clown named the Great Rinaldi, he is the funniest clown I have ever seen. Whenever I go to see the Great Rinaldi it always lifts my spirits.” The man responded. “You don’t understand doctor, I am the Great Rinaldi.” Life is made of joys and sorrows. The saying is that misery loves company and, if that’s true, there’s plenty of company. But the Bible teaches that you don’t have to be a victim. God wants you to have victory over them.
We read in all the synoptic gospels about Jesus healing a woman with the issue of bleeding (Matthew 9:20–22, Mark 5:25–34, Luke 8:43–48). She had been in pain for a long 12 years, physially, emotionally and spiritually. She must have been under a lot of physical pain with the loss of blood feeling pale and tired. She definitely had a lot of emotional pains to deal with as no man in his right mind would marry her. She would not have been allowed to socialize and was considered and outcast. She was also spiritually hurt because a woman with such a condition was considered unclean and was not allowed in the temple (Leviticus 15:19 -27). She had tried different doctors and their prescriptions, but nothing worked. The most remarkable thing about this woman is that despite the horrible situation, she never gave up. She determined in her heart, "if only I could touch the garment of Jesus, I would be healed."
Our attitude toward our limitations determines whether or not we can launch past it. Helen Keller said, “Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them, but do not let them master you. If I, deaf and blind, find life interesting, how much more you can gain by the use of your five senses." Whatever your limitation may be, God will not give up on you. Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, suffered from some kind of physical disorder that never left him until the day he died. He writes about it, "But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, “My grace is sufficient for you. My power becomes perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).
Pain makes a person stronger because grace abounds in pain. Someone said, “If it doesn’t kill; it will make you stronger”. Our limitations get our focus on someone greater than ourselves. We look away from the superficial and focus on the significant. Pain gives us a different perspective of life that others do not have. This in turn, leads to true contentment. In reality, most of our dissatisfaction with life comes through things that don’t matter. When things are going well or at least fairly well it’s easy to believe in the love of God. It is when things get tough that God's grace is experienced deeper. Christ did not come to do away with suffering; nor did He come to explain it, He came to be with us in the suffering.
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