Surprised With Pain

Recently in a meditation booklet I was reading I came across this lovely prayer:

God of justice, God of mercy, bless all those who are surprised with pain this day from suffering caused by their own weakness or that of others.  Let what we suffer teach us to be merciful; let our sins teach us to forgive.

Two things in that prayer struck me: 

1.        surprised with pain

2.        let what we suffer teach us to be merciful.

Pain is not usually something that announces that it is coming and gives us time to get ready.  With surgical wait lists here in Canada and elsewhere, I suppose that’s the one exception to the rule.  We know there will be pain after surgery but hopefully it’s leading to less discomfort than what we currently experience.

For the most part, one day we don’t have pain and the next day we do.  That can be the arthritis in our hands, the pain from a sports injury, the pain of a woman as childbirth onsets and so on.  With the pain we cannot control we have to find ways to cope.

The harder pain for most of us is the pain caused by ourselves or other – the heated or thoughtless word in a moment; an important event forgotten; rejection and disappointment – the list is endless of ways that we let ourselves and others down or experience the pain of others doing things that bring it on ourselves.

So how about this prayer that asks us to let what we suffer make us merciful.  Going through pain isn’t something any of us relish, especially if it isn’t our fault but there’s something here that God wants us to grow into, I think. He gives us Himself as the model:

But, our God, you are merciful and quick to forgive; you are loving, kind, and very patient.

Nehemiah 9:17

And on that basis we are encouraged in this way:

God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy!

Matthew 5:7

Be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Ephesians 4:32

Merciful God, we so need help if we are to ever be merciful to others when we are living in the effects of pain and suffering they have brought into our lives.  But today, we dare to ask You to grow Your grace in us so we can actually do just that.  Let what we suffer teach us to be merciful; let our sins teach us to forgive.  Amen

I find that a challenging lesson to think about living into today but it is truly at the center of God’s heart and His good news to us.  Let’s do it today.