29 January 2010
Pain is weakness leaving the body
Posted by craigkendall under: Other's Words; Random Notions; Revelations .
So it’s been a few days (okay months) since my last post. I know… I know… successful bloggers post regularly. Guess that just means I’m not a successful blogger.
A few years back I attempted to get back into the gym for some weightlifting. I learned several things.
- If you are active in a weightlifting program now, don’t quit. Getting started back is a pain… literally, on many levels.
- I’m not as young as I used to be.
- As I’ve gotten older bigger numbers aren’t as important as they used to be (age, weights, lbs., etc.)
Probably more if I took the time to contemplate it. But that’s not why I started this post. One of the interesting quotes I learned from the guy I lifted with was:
Pain is weakness leaving the body.
One of the things I’ve been learning on my journey is the concept that any growth in my walk is usually associated with pain. This is a huge conundrum for those who don’t know Father. Most folks seem to hold a view that if there is a “god” he, she, or it would always have everything rosy in the lives of that which he, she, or it created. A god who allows, even initiates pain in the lives of those who are dedicated to follow is not only foreign but to them a major stumbling block to any belief.
What makes this even more interesting was a recent Facebook post by a friend who is trying to find her way on a path of spiritual enlightenment and is grappling with God vs all other “systems”. Here’s two posts that appeared almost back to back:
I was talking to my friends about the various thoughts regarding GOD and my Friend said if God was really real, why would all those people in Haiti be suffering so much… I was speechless and Like DA I dont know??
And then…
If you look at the Mystic law of the universe suffering is a necessity in order to awaken compassion and enlightenment ~?~ but why with out no food and water??
Of course this line of questioning was all brought on by the tragic earthquake in Haiti but it did make me realize something very important. I’m not 100% sure where the last quote comes from but I’m guessing it’s some alternative-to-God system of spirituality that’s out there. As I contemplated what I was reading I realized often people hold the “one true God” of their perception to a different standard than any other religious teaching they explore. It’s not okay for the God of the Bible to allow or cause bad things to happen to good people… in fact, in their thinking that’s why “He” doesn’t really exist, yet, it’s noble and natural in other spiritual systems they often consider viable for suffering to bring about maturity. Have you encountered this before?
2 Comments so far...
Anonymous Says:
1 February 2010 at 1:23 pm.
The truth is no human knows if there is a God, who or what created the universe, the extent of the universe, and on and on. Worship was created in the human mind to help people get through the hardships of life. Pleasing the Gods to make life easier is not a modern concept. It is not important who or how people worship, but it is important to have beliefs that give us hope and comfort during the hard times. This is also what makes us have compassion for other people e.g. sending money/resources to Haiti.
craigkendall Says:
1 February 2010 at 2:01 pm.
Funny thing is you seem pretty sure about all this for someone who says no human knows. If I embrace the first sentence of your comment then I have to ignore the rest of what you have to say about such matters.
(MyWalkBlog is not a place to debate the “is there a God or is there not a God question.” There’s plenty of places for that on the Internet. Folks looking to engage in that debate should go find one of those places. MyWalkBlog is a place where I chronicle things Father is teaching me as I grow and walk with Him. That makes me either not human or you wrong. Either way, you are not me and cannot speak to a relationship I have with Father. You can only depersonalize your own experience with the supernatural, but you cannot depersonalize my own day by day, moment by moment encounters with my Father.)
