Blessing Others with our Pain
“O LORD, you brought my soul up from the grave; you have kept me from the grave; you have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Psalm 30:3
This cry of relief is attributed to David during the dedication of the temple. It is part of his psalm of thanksgiving to God for his victory against his enemies who sought to destroy him and prevent him from ascending to power as rightful king. Saul lost the crown because of his failure to obey God but he pursued to murder David. Many of David’s Psalms express his anguished cry for help as a fugitive on the run.
The grave or pit experience is a real experience for us Christians. We are familiar with life down at the bottom of the mountain, at the pit, at the grave, because of our familiarity with suffering. We suffer tremendous hurts and pains unjustly inflicted on us by various people, including our loved ones. We suffer grave humiliation and embarrassment due to shabby, improper or prejudiced treatment both by peers and strangers.
Our suffering includes undefined moments of emptiness and purposelessness, when life simply ebbs away and loses not only its luster but also its very meaning and purpose for no clear reason. In such moments we feel hollow, empty, sore, exhausted, lacking in zeal and zest. Such moments, alas, are not always a result of our sins, of our mismanagement of life and affairs, of chemical imbalance, or of a lack or insufficiency in some areas, sneaking at times of gaiety, prosperity, success, and good health.
But more than the reality of our pit and grave experiences is the reality of our salvation from them. We survive, not by mere chance or luck, but by God’s grace. After a crippling disease, a humongous problem, a sore heartache, a deep wound, and a confusing ambivalence we bounce back to life. We regain our senses, our strength, our clarity, our mission and vision. We find ourselves again. In our wonder we exclaim what grace has befallen us!
Our grave and pit experience can serve as a healing balm for others, a source of tremendous hope. It can be their light at the end of the tunnel, pointing to the life available after death. It can give them the strength they need to rise from the ground, from the pit, and embrace once more the powerful reality of life.
At the same time, our familiarity with pain and hurt, ambivalence and confusion, doubt and struggle can be a way for our conversion. We can become more loving, more compassionate, more hospitable, and more understanding of people’s faults, failings, and weaknesses. We can be more accepting too of ourselves.
The cross of Christ directs us to the power of life in the grave or pit – God’s love. It is who and what God is.
Written by Millicent A. Guarin
