Celebration and Pain 2

I never cease to be amazed by the power of the mind. I was helping my son clean out his back yard this weekend. I could do diddley squat. The slope was steep and I just couldn’t perambulate. Loving to connect with my son through work, a great saddness crept in. The loss of a connection with the guy in this world I love the most.

I had a choice: linger on the circumstances and get depressed or change my mindset. In the last post, we saw how the Philippians 4 passage shows us the healthy way to think.

1. Celebrate God for who He is and what He has done (for me).

2. Serve others.

3. Remember the big picture. Christ will return. No more pain.

In the next few verses the writer reveals even more specific mental processing.
Thus the pain of loss subsided as I brought my thoughts into captivity, beginning with praising God for all He has provided for me these 72 years.

But there was still the nerve-damaged leg and foot pain. It seems as I focus on the pain, physical and emotional, the hurting becomes more intense. Celebatng God seems to be somewhat of a “spiritual narcotic,” in that though the pain is still there, the magnitude lessens.

Second Corinthians 6:10 wraps this up this pain dilemna neatly: “Our hearts ache, yet we have the joy of the Lord.” Pain is inevitable, but I believe in the sovereignty of God and He promised to work all for my best and His glory. For that there is joy.

There can be value in pain. For me, the last six months has seen much needed character growth evolve out of the accident. Have you seen the value of your pain? How are you doing celebrating God? I hope you’ll join me in making that a more consistesnt exercise.

Celebration cures pain?

As an only child for nine years, I got a headstart on self-centeredness. Stuttering came into the picture at a young age which added fuel to the self-absorption fire. Parkinsons handed me the next log for the fire (I must take my pills at certain times or there is trouble.) And five months ago, the ATV accident that shattered my tibia plateau, causing painful nerve damage – still, was the crowning blow to the “self-focus.”

Pain is relative. Everyone has some kind of pain. Many are much worse off than I. But a self focus caused by a little or by a lot of pain isn’t healthy personally or relationally.

So, I was reading in Philippians 4 yesterday and in the Message it reads:
“Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!”

As a good Norwegian would say, “Oophda! How do you celebrate when you’re in fairly severe pain (emotionally or physically?) Celebrate God all day, every day – no days off for pouting? Even reveling in Him? Wow! How does one do that?”

Notice the sequence here. Celebrating God for who He is and what He has done, decentralizes self. So does a selfless attitude to assisting others. The passage culminates with the reminder that Christ ‘s return is eminent – the big picture.

The significance of what we do with our thought patterns is even clearer in the next few verses.
“Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

”Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

“As a man thinks, so is he.” More on this in the next post.