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sovereignty necessitates that we open ourselves to His leading, even if taking that path means following Him through the place of pressing. When faced with a season of struggle, we often focus exclusively on the pain; by choosing to adopt Jesus’ perspective of pain, though, we will look for God’s larger purpose in the midst of the season of struggle rather than focus only on the reality and side effects of the pain. King David also wrestled with painful experiences throughout his life, but he did not emphasize pain as the outcome. His Psalms resonate with the acknowledgment of God’s faithfulness in the midst of his own frustration, confusion, and pain (Psa. 69:1-2, 13-17; 77:1-20; 86:1-7; 102:1-28). Similarly, Paul attested that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9-10). C. S. Lewis pinpointed the way in which God uses pain to impact us and arrest our attention: “Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” 1 An accurate perspective of pain must be set against the backdrop of God’s consistent character. Consequently, when we enter the place of pressing, the understanding remains that God will continue to be the bedrock upon which the soul can depend regardless of the surrounding circumstances. God did not promise life without pain (John 16:33). But even when we hurt, when we weep, when we suffer—He is still with us, and is keenly interested in the process of our working through the reality of pain. When we find ourselves entering the place of pressing, it would be easy to ask why it is happening or attempt to escape. However, God is more interested in how we respond to 2 the painful season, than He is in answering our questions of why we are experiencing it. Our best response to pain should be a firm resolution to trust God regardless of what happens. It is His faithfulness in the midst of pain that enables us to trust Him. God may bring instant healing or deliverance, or opt not to do so because it may not be the most beneficial action at the time. A season of victory or celebration may not be forthcoming, but God has much to teach us in the midst of our struggle. Growth does not come without stretching, and the place of pressing is the perfect environment that God can use to foster spiritual maturity within us. In the place of pressing, we learn to trust His heart even when we cannot see His hand; we learn to believe His truths even when we cannot feel His touch; we learn to know who He is even when we do not know what He is doing. My wife is currently undergoing weekly treatments for MS. This will be a lifelong journey of learning to work through the process of pain. Our faith is being built stronger each day as we seek to see the situation through God’s eyes instead of our human eyes alone. Only with His perspective can we fully understand the value of the place of pressing, and only then can we begin to comprehend how precious pain can be in bringing us to a place of surrender. We understand that God will heal her body, whether in this life or the next. At the core of this process, however, we are discovering how God is more interested in a deeper relationship with us than in simply healing a disease. God can minister to us just as powerfully through the process of pain as He can through the product of a complete healing, so we must choose to trust Him tenaciously in the place of pressing
ecause only with trust in Him can we perceive the purpose in the pain. Jesus serves as our prime example on how to respond to the place of pressing: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” It is in choosing this perspective that we can grow closer to God in ways we did not know were possible. We discover the beauty and the purpose in the pain as God uses this season of struggle not to destroy us but to grow us, not to shatter us but to rebuild us, and not to wound us but to heal us. This initiates a new perspective. Instead of asking God, “Why am I in pain?,” we can begin asking Him, “What do You want to teach me in this pain?” Only then can we truly understand the purpose to be found in the place of pressing. 1 C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York, NY: MacMillan, 1944), 91. 3 The place of pressing is not about the intensity or longevity of the pain. In fact, it is not about the pain at all. It is about one thing and one thing alone: knowing Him more. As we surrender to His will and allow Him to guide us through the place of pressing, we will come to understand that pain is not an ending of our lives but actually a progression in our lives when we place it in His hands. We learn that the power of His faithfulness far outweighs the potency of the pain. This is why we can choose to place our focus on Him and not on the pain itself. It is this focus of knowing Him more that enables us to enter the place of pressing with hope in Him, to walk through the place of pressing with trust in Him, and to leave the place of pressing with stronger faith in Him when the season of pain has finally ended.
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Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal
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2 changed the very fabric o
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people in the world) could
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loans to poor individuals c
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poor, to proclaim release t
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10 pastoral ministry could ad
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Huntington, S. P. The Clash o
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8 “Pentecostalism’s Rise,”
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The Apostolic Mandate 2 Gospel Chu
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Everyone has warned me not to tell
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Apostolic Praxis: Driven by the Win
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ministry, and provide for their own
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a connection to the broader body of
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SOURCES CITED Anderson, Ray S., ed.
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In the years to follow, Alta began
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First and foremost, Washburn was wi
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Historically, Native Americans have
Page 43 and 44: missionaries from Arizona, Washingt
Page 45 and 46: 35 Having myself served for fourtee
Page 47 and 48: them 8 because women were not educa
Page 49 and 50: correspondence provides noteworthy
Page 51 and 52: methods Christ exemplified remain c
Page 53 and 54: 1 Susan C. Hyatt, In the Spirit We
Page 55 and 56: 40 Ibid. 41 Hyatt, 30. 42 Brown, 15
Page 57 and 58: Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal
Page 59 and 60: motivated to work even more so they
Page 61 and 62: earth, the sea, and all that is in
Page 63 and 64: order to counter the cultural tempt
Page 65 and 66: 2000), 25. 264. 6 Schor, 11. 7 Ibid
Page 67 and 68: God is indeed “already, but not y
Page 69 and 70: necessary, and limited agent to pro
Page 71 and 72: Bibliography Amjad-Ali, Charles W.,
Page 73 and 74: Wolterstorff , Nicholas. “Forewor
Page 75 and 76: 16 Ibid., 238. 17 The task is unden
Page 77 and 78: 39 Ibid., 152. 40 This section admi
Page 79 and 80: Peter Bolt notes the allusion to Ps
Page 81 and 82: ole in the action of bringing all G
Page 83 and 84: 23 Moltmann, The Trinity and the Ki
Page 85 and 86: Prayerful Pilgrims Although convers
Page 89 and 90: The only promise of God not conting
Page 91 and 92: Abraham‟s heart. God had to dethr
Page 93: Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal
Page 97 and 98: Chad told me of his days as a succe
Page 101 and 102: 3 Epistles, Paul evidences al
Page 105 and 106: In his article, “Why Has the Chur
Page 107 and 108: segments of the population lived in
Page 109 and 110: lessing in her lowly state (v. 48),
Page 111 and 112: poor results in the eschatological
Page 113 and 114: encouraging the rich to give alms t
Page 115 and 116: the community, “this actually hap
Page 117 and 118: 5. Human rights are the minimum con
Page 119 and 120: challenged with the need to struggl
Page 121 and 122: expression of our love for God is i
Page 123 and 124: Pilgrim, Walter E. Good News to the
Page 125 and 126: 24 C. McCown, “Palestine, Geograp
Page 127 and 128: 73 I. Howard Marshall and David Pet
Page 129 and 130: 122 Pilgrim, 124. 123 Ibid. 122. 12
Page 131 and 132: In his final chapter, Alexander tur
Page 133 and 134: credence to internal evidence. Less
Page 135 and 136: On a practical side, the book inclu
Page 143 and 144: thought. Surely Jesus will physical
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promises. I agree with her about an
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The understanding of the cross, the
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