Pain makes me stir crazy! I have been in a great deal of physical pain the last two weeks. Every waking minute I focus on how to get out of the pain — get up and move around, the faster the better; sit down and be still, motionless, if possible; find medication; experiment with home remedies; adjust something in my routine. Pain is something we instantaneously want to get out of and we will work tirelessly to do just that. Any pain — all pain — emotional, mental, relational and physical.
In a couple of weeks, I have the rare opportunity of interviewing an artist who just released her first single. The message of the song is. . . wait for it . . . sit in the pain. WHAT?!? Who does that? Seriously. This song is all about her journey to get out of the pain. She discovered that it required her to take a moment to sit in the pain. I have never once in the last 10 days of my physical pain considered sitting in the pain. My only consideration was how to get out of it, as fast as possible. Of course, she is referring to spiritual and emotional pain. I’m learning her message applies to all kinds of pain.
Sitting in the pain ushers in some clarity. Clarity comes because when we sit with the pain the search gets refined — re-focused. Prior to sitting in the pain the search is focused on how to get out of it. When we sit in the pain, we are drawn to uncover the source of the pain. Armed with the source, our actions are better informed, more deliberate, less scattered, completely intentional. When we sit in the pain, we refuse to bow to anxiety and fear. Instead we face them both. Courage rises. Anxiety and fear cannot linger in the presence of courage. When we sit in the pain, really look at it, truly contemplate it, breakthrough arrives.
Go ahead, sit in your pain for a moment (not forever) and find clarity.
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