I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.” (Lamentations 3:24 NIV)
“Pain, be gone in the name of Jesus!” Isn’t that what Jesus told us to do? He said if we speak to the mountain, meaning our mountain-size problem, that it would be removed (Mark 11:23). Yes, Jesus told us to speak to the mountain, but He didn’t say when the mountain would move.
Each day I prayed with little or no change. This continued on for months, and like Jeremiah, I lost all hope.
Have you been there, my friend? Have you spoke to that chronic pain and kept the faith? Have you prayed asking God to move the mountain?
I don’t know exactly when the pain began to disappear. I believe it began after my first epidural injection. I felt a huge improvement after that, but I didn’t have pain-free hours until much later. I use the word hours instead of days because I’m not sure I’ve had a totally pain-free day, but I will gladly take a few hours here and there.
Did we waste our time telling pain to move? No, we forgot about God’s timing. Today’s focal verse comes directly after the well-known “Great is Your faithfulness” statement (Lam. 3:23). Jeremiah had regained his hope in God When he recalled God’s love, mercies, and faithfulness, he regained hope. If you are drowning in a sea of hopelessness, my friend, recall God’s love for you. His Son, Jesus Christ loves you so much that He died for you. Recall God’s faithfulness when He came through for you and made good on His promises.
Sometimes, we have to wait on the Lord, and that’s what Jeremiah realized here. He knew God as his portion, meaning inheritance, or treasure. Jeremiah also realized God doesn’t work on our timetable.
I pray the pain you live in today will not last forever. I trust God to move that mountain in His time as He has done for me. I want to encourage you today in the waiting. It gets difficult when we wait for pain to decrease, and we wait on test results. Hope will see us through as we wait. If you have relinquished your hope, grab it and hold it tight, as Jeremiah did. God works behind the scenes, while we wait. Trust and wait on the Lord.
Heavenly Father, I forget about Your timetable at times. I pray for just a few hours of relief. I believe You will move this mountain known as pain. I praise You and thank You right now, as evidence of my faith, looking forward to those pain-free moments. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
Read Lamentations 3:23 NIV.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
HIKING THE TRAIL
Reflect back on a specific time when You have seen God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love. Will you trust Him to do that again?
RELATED RESOURCE
I became so discouraged while pain ran through my body, until God reminded me about the words I had written in my book, Faith That Walks on Water. Even though the book was written about emotional bondage, it helped me get through this pain. Check it out here.
Originally posted on April 28, 2023 @ 1:00 am