Feeling God’s Peace Living with Chronic Pain

My own journey with chronic pain started when I was around fourteen. I started to notice my back would feel stiff and sore if I stood for longer than a half hour or sat in certain positions, like in the car. But I brushed it off. I honestly didn’t know that having back pain was out of the ordinary – it was just so common for me. As a junior in high school, I learned that my back pain was NOT normal… it was caused by severe scoliosis.

Even after major surgery to correct my curve, the pain continued.  I can’t remember a day since then that I haven’t experienced pain and discomfort in my spine which often spreads to my hips as well.

Over the years, I’ve grappled with accepting that this pain is never going to just go away. My scoliosis has been treated as much as it ever can be. That was confirmed for me two summers ago when I visited a chronic pain specialist and orthopedic surgeon and was reminded that the joint damage – a source of pain – from my remaining spinal curvature would only get worse as I aged.

I think it was around this time that I actually came to terms with the fact that I have CHRONIC pain. I had done my best to ignore it, to push through it, to live normally. And yet, I was sitting in my doctor’s office being told my pain would not improve. 

I had to accept it – pain would be a factor in every stage of my life.

At times, I can get pretty discouraged. I find it difficult that my pain started when I was young, because I felt like I hadn’t even had a chance to live my life yet. The discouraged part of me can feel cheated of having a “normal” experience of being a young adult. 

If you’re reading this, you’re probably acquainted with the feeling of waking up in the morning feeling heavy and already tired because some part of your body hurts…again. During the day, you get exhausted pushing past sensations of pain in order to focus on tasks, carry on a quality conversation, and accomplish goals. 

Yet even though your pain is a looming part of your everyday experience, it’s invisible to everyone else. Even when your nerves, sore muscles, or aching joints are screaming at you, your condition is silent to the outside observer. 

Pain is a quiet thief, robbing us of energy, productivity, and opportunity.

So where do we go from here? Am I – are you – doomed to always being disappointed by our bodies? Will we always feel discouraged, exhausted, unseen, and unheard?

Do we let pain rob us of our joy?

When you feel alone and your hurting is unrecognized, know that God is paying attention. Psalm 56:8 says, 

“You have kept count of my tossings;

put my tears in your bottle.

Are they not in your book?” 

Even when your prayer for relief may not seem to be heard, God is listening. He is keeping count, bottling your tears. What a beautiful image. 

God not only hears your prayers, he provides you with strength. Scripture tells us that it is in these times of weakness that God’s strength is seen. 

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 

You and I may feel weak every single day. I choose to remember that Christ is strong for me. And when we praise Him amid our pain then we can bear an awesome witness to Christ’s love.

Finally, we do have the promise of something better – a healthy body when Christ comes again!

“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

Wow! Paul – the same Paul who wrote that “God’s power is made perfect in weakness” – is writing to Christians who are undergoing persecution. And he says that the things we suffer now in this life will not even be comparable to what we will experience in the life to come. We have to remember that although we struggle with chronic pain that greatly impacts our daily lives… the here and now is not all that we have. 

We can look forward to a NEW earth and experience of a body that is not worn down by pain and suffering. When we are discouraged and overwhelmed by our experiences, we need to remember that there is something so much greater waiting. 

“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

Let God’s presence, power, and promises bring you joy when your pain tries to bring you down.