Day 28 - In the Pain

​“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4
         My abuelito Jose (Grandfather) recently passed away, he was in the last stages of cancer and it was too late to undergo chemo-therapy. He suffered until the last moment. At first I didn’t understand, I was aware of the reality that he no longer would be with us, so my prayer wasn’t a miracle, even though I believe in a God of miracles, my prayer was for his pain to go away. I prayed that God would take away his suffering and that even though he was leaving us I wanted it to be peacefully. Day after day though, the pain just kept getting stronger and stronger. “Why?” I asked God, my abuelo was a faithful man of God, so why? I soon realized that this world is full of pain, hate, and suffering and until we are at His throne that will never truly go away. I know he is rejoicing right now and that: “…the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18. God did answer my prayer even though I didn’t see it at the time, and I find immense joy in knowing that he is where we all should strive to be. When we are at these places of pain, we often forget what God has done for us. For me it was more time with him. You see before this my abuelo had to undergo a big surgery, there was a high risk that he wouldn’t make it through, but it was necessary. We prayed for a miracle and that’s what we received.
         The highest form of submission to me, is in the pain. I had to submit in the confusion, my abuelo submitted in his suffering believing, hoping and trusting that our Father would carry him through, and He did.
         Jesus suffered for our sins and transgressions. Not only did he suffer physically, he suffered spiritually and emotionally as well, beyond anything we could ever experience. So much so that He cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46, yet STILL submitted, knowing we would mess up time and time again. This is not intended to guilt trip you but instead make you realize the immense, unexplainable love that God has for us. Don’t just think of God as this authoritative being who is in control of everything, think of him also as a loving father that longs to be close to you, longs to have a personal relationship with you.