“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentace to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 2 Cor. 7:9-10
Today’s Christian daily devotional
“I’ll be fine, John. The show must go on.” Markus pushed down his sleeve and covered the open wound on his arm.
Moments before, he had taken a nasty tumble down a flight of rickety basement stairs, gashing his arm on an exposed metal pipe.
“No, let me look at that again.” John grabbed him before Markus had a chance to argue.
“This doesn’t look good, it’s swelling pretty fast.” Grabbing a sterile tissue, John dabbed at the open wound.
“But it’s opening night.” Markus argued pushing his sleeve down once again. “I’ll be fine.” Sweat beaded on his forehead as he smiled through the pain.
“You could get an infection. This basement is pretty dirty.”
John and his theater troop were playing at a small private theater. It was a refurbished old house on the West side of Chicago and the basement was the only unfinished portion. Construction dust and debris were scattered everywhere.
“Well, if the pain gets worse, you’ve got to let someone know so we can get you to the hospital. People die from infections all the time.” John backed away, giving Markus the space he needed. The words he said were not the words Markus wanted to hear.
“I’m a man, that is what we do.” He locks eyes with John and huffs defensively, pumping his shoulders back a few times before rushing up the steps to the sound of his name being called on the stage above.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10 reminds us that pain can actually be profitable. It can be the very catalyst that can move us from a point of danger to a place of healing.
Many people don’t move unless there is a certain amount of discomfort motivating them. For those individuals, pain can be a real blessing in the long run.
Even though we know in our minds that ignoring pain will never make it actually go away; denial is often the route so many take.
Why is this? Because it is often the easier pill to swallow. In the end, denial only makes a bigger mess that invariably will still have to be dealt with to in the end.
So, what happened to our friend, Markus? He almost lost his arm. Just as John had predicted, a staff infection settled in and poisoned his bloodstream. If Markus would have heeded the warnings, he could have saved himself from weeks of pain, thousands of dollars in medical bills and a scar he now will carry for the rest of his life.
In life, pain is inevitable. When it strikes you, ask God to show you the purpose for it and seek to find His solution. This will lead you to your healing and you will also get wisdom from your experience as an added bonus. Denial delays all of that.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
Oh, the pain of life sometimes feels too large for me to bear. I admit that many times I try and take the easy route. I have ignored my pain, issues and problems, hoping that they would just shrink away.
They never do. They only loom bigger over me and this adds to my worry, anxiety and fears.
I have many issues today, because I never faced them when they first entered my life.
Lord, help. I feel like my own life is drowning me. I can’t see a good future—I can’t see the hope that things will get better.
I have hit my rock bottom, and my pain tolerance has been ignored so long that I literally feel numb.
Give me the wisdom to reach out for your guidance and your truth. I know I can find all these things in your word.
I am asking for you to bless my prayer time and Bible reading time.
Help me to hear your directions for my life clearly. This time I will not ignore your wisdom because it is not something I don’t want to hear, because I know I need to hear it and I am ready to now. Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s Christian daily devotional on verses: 2 Corinthians 7:9-10
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan