How Much Pain Can One Heart Take?

We avoid pain. We set up walls to keep pain out and to lessen its impact on us. When threatened, we shut down. We go into lockdown mode until the situation passes. Then, brick by brick, we wall in that memory until we can no longer feel it pressing into our consciousness.

But does this do any good? Can we avoid pain by shutting it out? Pain is a normal part of life. In fact, it can keep us safe. Those who feel no sensation of physical pain often needlessly injure themselves because they do not feel it.

If we shut ourselves off from pain, if we run from it, we may never understand that there is a problem. If we don't see the problem, how can we ever find the solution?

God says that He will wipe away every tear and that there will be a time when there will be no more pain. We long for such a time. But it is in this idea that we begin to understand the source of pain.

Complete healing will be realized in God's Kingdom. But when we ignore God’s instructions, when we decide that we know what is good and what is bad, we set ourselves up for injuries and disappointments. Jesus tells us that God is our father and that He gives good gifts to us. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that God is the ONLY source of good. That means that if we reject Him and choose to follow our own ideas, we will not find good. Evil is the absence of good. Something good helps and does not injure us. It fills and does not deplete us. It completes and does not tear us down.

Jesus tells us that the devil comes ONLY to kill steal and destroy. That is the definition of evil. But Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the fullest. He came to give us His joy and peace. This is the definition of good.

As we live in this world, we will experience pain and disappointment. Much of it will be the result of trying to live our lives using our own wisdom, apart from God. But Jesus can heal and deliver us. To do this, He needs to be the center of our lives.

Let go of anger and unforgiveness against everyone, even yourself. God has forgiven you and those you hate. Receive His forgiveness and let go of your jealousy and resentment. Stop judging others. Stop judging yourself. Let God be the judge and then listen to what He has to say.

Sometimes, this process of healing is painful. It requires us to expose our pain that we have hidden for years, to reveal our fears, our weaknesses, and insecurities. But this kind of pain brings healing and release. You are not alone. God promises us: “I will never leave you or forsake you.” No longer will you need to be afraid. You are forgiven, accepted, and loved. Receive that love.

Jesus will wipe away every tear:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be [any] death; there shall no longer be [any] mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. (Rev. 21:3-6)

How much pain can one heart take? One heart, the heart of Jesus, has taken it all!