Extreme Pain

"For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men." - 2 Corinthians 8:1

There are a few times in my life when I can remember having agonizing "physical" pain; the kind that puts you on the floor screaming for relief.

"Physical" pain is rough of course but have you ever stopped to think about "spiritual" pain?

There are many Bible characters that took "spiritual" pains to levels we can only imagine. Ruth left her homeland, Abraham nearly killed Isaac, Paul was in prison (more than once), Daniel was thrown in a lion's den, just to name a few.

What kind of "spiritual" pain are we taking for the Lord? I'm pretty sure you can't name a time when you were thrown in a lion's den or were on the brink of killing your son.

These may be extreme cases but we need to start getting extreme for the Lord. We need to step out of our shells and take some hits for Him. Forget about "poor lil' me" and really, really become a soldier in the Lord's army.

No pain is greater than that which our Lord suffered on the cross. He was mocked, beaten, bruised and murdered, all to save us from sin.

So what will a little pain hurt? Think today what you can do to stir up a little pain for the Lord and go to the extreme, because He did it for you.