If The World Had No Pain

"If the world had no pain, everyone would forget God and become selfish, which would cause lots of pain." - Mark Zaia

• 1 Peter 1:3-9, 18-20 (NIV) - 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

1. Avoiding Pain - We make the mistake of thinking God's path won't have any pain and when it comes we grumble, but God comes into the fire with us, so that we can bear up and grow, and then minister to others.

2. Who You Will Become is Determined By What You Are Prepared to Face

• You see people through the eyes of your own soul.
• Soren kirkegard: "All men have a natural fear of making a mistake, by believing too well of a person. However the error of believing too ill of a person is not feared to the same degree."
• Cynicism is often morally apathetic - it pulls down instead of building up
• "Belief in Christ doesn't so much meet your needs, as it takes you out of yourself, to a place where you care about God and others. In that place, value and significance abound to you and your deepest yearning becomes fulfilled in a way that makes your previous needs seem less urgent and important. God is now free to fulfill those needs, because you aren't living unto them as your God. ["Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you"]

3. The Moral Dilemma of Suffering

• Personally, I blame man, not God, for the suffering in the world.
• Man goes his own way, without God, then blames God for the suffering that comes from his own sin.
• The cross has never made sense to those people who can't see their own sinfulness. They are offended by its implications. But it makes good sense to those who humble themselves and admit that they fall short of what God requires. They ask God to save them and are astounded to realise that He still loves them and that He paid the ultimate cost in order to forgive them, and restore them to Himself.

Suffering is part of the journey - it "sucks" in our flesh, but can bring life to the soul if we walk with God through it.
None of us like it, we all struggle with it, but on the other side of it, there is fruit and a way that God uses it for good.

Four Keys To Overcoming

^{Romans 7:18 - 8:2 (NIV)
Romans 7:18}I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
 ²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

 ^{Romans 8:1}Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,^[b]2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

1. Spread Your Foundations - God, family, church, friends, sewing, recreation, live to others, adventure, health, faith projects.

2. Fight Smaller Battles

• 
  Don't rate them so high
• Ephesians 6: 10-18 (NIV) ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 
• 7 Minutes with God for survival
• 1 Minute prayer for thanksgiving
• 4 Minutes reading the bible
• 2 Minutes intercession

3. Work On Your Desires 

• Psalm 37:4 (NIV) ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
• The principle of First Things -
• First part of the day to prayer
• First day of the week to church
• First part of income to God
• First consideration of every decision to the Holy Spirit
• Matthew 6:33 (NIV) ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

4. Be Wise about who you bond to and who you separate from

• Emotional attachments are foundational to life, but which ones bring health and which ones damage you?
•  Benefits of healthy attachments: good self esteem, morality, handling of stress, and adding meaning to your accomplishments.
• A failure to bond leads to distorted, unbalance thinking.
• How to bond: admit a need, move towards others, be vulnerable, allow for differences, negotiate the other persons defenses, be empathetic, listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance, say "yes" to life activities.