The Night Watch

“Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
 ~C.S. Lewis

Psalm 119:148

New International Version (NIV)

148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,

    that I may meditate on your promises.

Job 6:10 

This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

2 Corinthians 12:10

New International Version (NIV)

10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I easily fall into the trap of measuring my days by the level of pain I've experienced.  I may stop for a moment and rejoice that I was walking like a normal person.  Then I can turn around and worry about a new pain and wonder where it's going to lead.   My mind can travel faster than the speed of light from contentment to disaster.  Rheumatoid Arthritis challenges me to be a better witness of God's mercy and grace, and I don't always feel up to the challenge; but that's okay, God is.   He is my strength in my weakness, my hope in my despair, my comfort in my pain.  God is my joy and my song.

"How Emptiness Sings" - Christa Wells