At the start of Jesus’s ministry, He took the scroll in the synagogue and read that He was the fulfilment to Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 61, part of which read “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted” (Is 61:3). Ps 147 says “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”(Ps 147:3). Matt 12:20 says “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.” All of these verses offer tremendous encouragement and hope to us when we are hurting or suffering.

Life is sometimes more painful than we care to admit. At times we are weary beyond words and hurting more than we can describe. It’s important for us to realise that “the LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18)

Being broken is never pleasant, but it is a place where we most readily meet with God. Matthew tells us “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12) Proverbs has much to say about pride and humility and we know that “God mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed” (Prov 3:34). Sometimes, it’s only in that place of brokenness that we find true humility and draw close to God.

If you’re hurting right now and feel that no one understands your pain, know that Jesus is that great High Priest who knows what it is to be human and who can fully enter into your pain and has the power to bind up the broken-hearted. He is close to all who are in distress. He loves us more than we can imagine. He is there with us in it all, never leaving us, never forsaking us.

The Misfits was a 1960s film featuring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, in which a sexy divorcée falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle in early-sixties Nevada. The film was not a commercial success at the time of its release but garnered critical respect for its script and performances afterwards and is particularly poignant for being the last film both Monroe and Gable made (Clark Gable suffered a heart attack two days after filming ended and died ten days later.)

I was thinking about the film title as I have been meditating on Romans 12:2 in preparation for the next Bible study! “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom 12:2) In some ways, I feel that being a misfit is what Paul is talking about here. It’s so easy for us to be desperate to ‘fit in’ to our society and culture, to feel that we belong, to want to be accepted by others by conforming to the world’s standards, expectations, beliefs and patterns of living. We notice the misfits, the people who don’t fit in, the ones who are a ‘bit odd’, the people who perhaps don’t have the same social standards or beliefs of the majority. Being a misfit can be pretty lonely.

And yet Paul is reminding us that we are different. We are called to be different from the world. The Message says “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.” We need to be ready to be different, allowing God to make that difference in us.

There is a line in Rich Mullins’ song ‘Somewhere’ which always resonates with me: the idea that in this world ‘we’re all hanging empty/ Empty and upside-down’. We don’t fit in. We are created for more than this world can offer. Let’s not settle for what this world offers us, however tempting it may be to want to ‘fit in’ and be ‘acceptable’. Let’s realise instead how much God is able to transform us and allow His life to be seen in us.

Ralph preached last night on the verse from 1 Peter 2:7 looking at ‘to you who believe, He is precious’. Taking Song of Songs chapter 2 as his text, he examined ways in which Jesus is precious to us. He looked at some of the ‘I am’ names of God before thinking about Jesus being the ‘rose of Sharon and lily of the valley’ – not the biggest flowers, but flowers that have a lovely fragrance, just as Jesus has that aroma which we are to carry. (2 Cor 2:15)

Song of Songs is a passionate love story which also serves as a reminder of the intimate relationship between the church (the Bride) and Christ (the Bridegroom). It talks about the protection of God (Song of Songs 2:3, see also Ps 91:1) and also the provision of God (Song of Songs 2:4-5, see also Ps 23:5). In it, we also see how the Bridegroon is calling us into that deeper relationship with Him (see Matt 11:28) and how the responsibility for telling others about that voice which calls now rests with us.

Mark preached from John 14:6 on Sunday morning, looking at the verse ‘I am the way.’

Jesus answers a question from His disciples as He teaches them about His future destiny. They don’t understand how He can be talking about leaving them and where He is going; Thomas admits He has no idea how to get to that place! In reply, Jesus tells him ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ – another of the ‘I am’ statements in John’s Gospel which reveal more of God’s name.

Jesus is not only an example to us, but is the way to the Father. He bridges the gap between a heavenly, holy God and sinful, earthly man. He is the ‘new and living way’ (Hebrews 10:20) by which we can come into God’s presence because He has removed the barrier between us and God. Previously, the High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies (the symbol of God’s presence) once a year, on penalty of death. Now we have the privilege of access to God on a daily basis, because Jesus has made the way for us to come freely into God’s presence. We are declared righteous not because of our righteousness, but because of His redemptive sacrifice.

Jesus is also the way to all the blessings of God (Eph 1:3). We can, therefore, now approach the Father with boldness, reverence and thankfulness.

The link is to Jeremy Camp’s song ‘The Way’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q6o4sbndVE

Pursue
… chase after
… follow determinedly
…continue after
….seek, search
…track and trail
…run after
… shadow
righteousness
…right living
…rectitude
…integrity
…honour
…chivalry
godliness
…being like God
…living a life of wonder and mystery
…capable of awe
…capturing the transcendent
…otherness
faith
…steadfast trust
…unswerving hope
…quiet confidence
love
…loyal support for
…continued affirmation of
…pleasure in
…devotion to
endurance
…ability to bear
…perseverance
…patient fortitude
…steadfast strength
…gritty determination
…never-let-go attitude
gentleness
…courtesy
…consideration
…calmness under pressure
…thoughtfulness
…serenity

“Pursue righteousness: godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

This is not easy to write in that the subject of redemptive pain can’t be explored fully in a simple blog post. But I believe it’s a topic we shouldn’t run away from.

I’m not a masochist. I don’t go looking for pain. But I do believe that pain is more useful than we would like to admit and that God can bring good out of even those things that wound us the most.

Physical pain is an ‘unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli’, the dictionary says. Most pain resolves promptly once the painful stimulus is removed and the body has healed, but sometimes pain persists despite removal of the stimulus and apparent healing of the body; and sometimes pain arises in the absence of any detectable stimulus, damage or disease. Yet there is a purpose in pain, for “it motivates withdrawal from damaging or potentially damaging situations, protection of a damaged body part while it heals, and avoidance of similar experiences in the future.” Leprosy is such a devastating disease precisely because nerves in the body which would warn us of danger (eg fire) are damaged and so the body can be hurt without the person realising it. Diabetes can result in neuropathy (nerve damage)that can lead to amputation of limbs. I have to have my feet tickled once a year to check that the nerves there are still functioning!

None of us really like pain, though, and seek to avoid it, whether that’s physical pain or emotional pain. We are often happy to settle for anaesthesia rather than long-term solutions, though. I’m grateful for anaesthetics (especially when you have to have an operation!), but I’m aware also that my sinful heart seeks to cover up the true reasons for pain at times, especially emotional pain.

Rich Mullins, an artist I admire greatly, struggled greatly with feelings of loneliness and isolation for much of his life – emotional pain that may not be visible to the outside world but which can be agonising, nonetheless. From this position, however, he wrote the song “The Agony and the Glory”:

“Would you make a wish tonight if you saw a falling star?
Would you like for happiness to shower right down where you are?
Could be the things we have to suffer become the way to find the other.

Oh, we’ve got to live with the agony and the glory
With the pain and joy we can learn to rejoice and embrace both sides of the story
Not a single moment goes to waste if it works to make you holy
Let the Spirit have His way with you through the agony and the glory.

When you say your prayers tonight, what will you ask the Lord to do?
Do you want your pleasure now, or do you want His will for you?
We can’t escape from all the tensions, why not embrace His glory and them?

Oh, we’ve got to live with the agony and the glory
Through the pain and joy we can learn to rejoice and embrace both sides of the story
Not a single moment goes to waste if it works to make you holy
Let the Spirit have His way with you through the agony and the glory.

We give thanks for the sun, we give thanks for the rain
He is Lord of them all, all the joy and the pain.”
(Rich Mullins, ‘The Agony and the Glory’)

I think what’s important for us to understand (and this links in to the ongoing need for surrender to God) is that God works for the good of those who love Him, no matter what. Even in agony, even in pain, God is there. We so often want the ‘quick fix’, the ‘easy solution’. We so often want other people to be the solution: a friend to love us, a spouse who will alleviate our loneliness, and then we wonder why relationships break under the strains of impossible expectations. We fail to understand that the ache in our hearts can only be healed by God. It’s only when we stop trying to run away from the pain and come before God that we can find some measure of peace. We need a long-term perspective, not a demanding attitude that God fix things in the way we deem best.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor 4:17)

May we have the courage to invite God into our pain and allow Him to bring from the agony the ‘eternal glory that far outweighs’ all our suffering.