There is this revealing interview with a Nigerian woman, a devoted Christian who led a worship ministry in her church amid the barbaric slaughter of her co-religionists in her beloved country. During the interview, she blurted out a remark that cut to her heart: “Our response to pain is worship. »
My heart completely melted at those very words she said. And I am sure that all Christians who love God felt the same emotion in their Spirit hearing such a thrilling and insightful statement of faith from someone who is deeply scarred by the atrocities committed against his own people.
In that moment, I felt God speaking to the entire Church through this woman: “Our response to pain is worship.”
It reminds us that we, as Christians, are one in soul and one in spirit, just as we are one in Christ. You see, when our Shepherd speaks, we hear it loud and clear, it pierces the heart.
Worship is still on their lips
These same words reminded me of the apostle Paul. He worshiped God while chained – in that lonely, dark, tiny, cramped dungeon, tainted by his own waste. He encouraged and urged believers to “rejoice in the Lord always“, while being held in the oppressive darkness of the dungeon, defiled, deprived and stripped of all comforts.
God’s faithful servants, from ancient times to modern times, have raised the bar in how they deal with pain and difficulty. From Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, the apostle Paul, to the suffering servants of our time, worship never leaves their lips, even in the midst of their trials. Some were killed, others with broken bones, bruised flesh and hunger gnawing at their guts, but they remained faithful and never stopped speaking words of praise to glorify God.
We must admit that some have expressed complaints or questioned God, but one thing they never did: they never turned their backs on Him. Praise was always on their lips, glorifying God even when life was more difficult than they could bear. They felt empowered to worship and embraced life with grateful hearts despite their circumstances.
The question is: is it even possible for us ordinary people to do the same? To rejoice and worship the Lord in our darkest hours? When we don’t know when the next meal will be, when our purse is empty and bills line up in little rows on our desk, when we lose the only job that kept our family afloat, or perhaps we lose the one we love most, or when we are afflicted with a terrible illness, can we still rejoice in the Lord in the midst of excruciating pain?
We cannot do it ourselves, but with God’s help we can. Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
The power of worship
God’s faithful servants have taught us that the harder the days are, when the shadows lengthen longer than expected, the deeper, richer, and more complete our worship should be. It is our weapon, our quiet act of resistance against the darkness.
Responding to pain with worship requires spiritual maturity. Often, whether we want to admit it or not, the act of worship is last on our list when life is hard. Suddenly, worshiping God, an act that was natural, becomes a real struggle. Has it not always been true for most of us that when overwhelming pain lays us bare, we are more likely to disappear into a corner, sulking, curling up in agony as we struggle against a tide of complex emotions: paralyzing fear, raw anger, waves of deep sadness can consume us all at once. And that’s okay. We are human. God understands that we are dust and that we cannot hold on when the stakes are high.
However, we must not forget who we are in Christ. We do not live without hope. We have God on our side, guiding us through the thorny path until we get to the other side, finding our way to smoother ground.
Remember how God’s faithful servants enjoyed victory after refusing to give in to fear by worshiping God in the midst of their suffering. They know that victory comes when hearts turn to worship: Daniel was not devoured by lions, Paul and Silas were released from prison, and the list keeps growing. So let us remember that it is when our pain burns like fire that we must strive all the more to rebuild ourselves and rise again through the transformative power of worship.
Recognize the power of the Holy Spirit living within you
And this same Spirit who enabled God’s servants of old to worship Him even in the height of suffering, the One who raised Jesus from the dead, is the same Spirit who lives in you and me today.
This is why persecuted Christians throughout the world have been able to endure until death. They did not renounce their faith; they kept going to church, even when it was the safest and most practical thing to do. They couldn’t have been so brave on their own. It was the Spirit of God within them that kept them firm in their faith, allowing them to continue even when all seemed lost.
You are braver than you think
And as a result, you too can thrive and remain faithful as they did in the face of daunting odds. We have the Spirit of the Lord within us, so let us be fearless.
The death of the martyrs is not a defeat but a resounding victory. We are not of this world. We do not have the spirit that indwells the world and so we must see things through God’s eyes. We have a God and a place to come home to, and so we live with hope and joyful expectations of what is to come. “I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But rest assured! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV
Most of us have experienced debilitating heartbreak. We know that no one will come out of this world unscathed because God himself said it: “In this world you will have trouble. » Hearing this may sound more like a difficult pill to swallow. This is not the case. Jesus concluded it with an uplifting and reassuring note: “But take courage, for I have overcome the world. »
This is an encouraging statement that gives us reason to greet pain not with despair and anger but with adoration. Singing words of praise even when the heart breaks and tears flow, burdened by the challenges that often push us to our limits.
The faithful servant of God knows very well that when they are at the end of their rope, when they can no longer bear their burdens, God comes for them. This is why Jesus told us not to be afraid, because through every storm, He is our lifeline. It is not easy, but God will make the struggle tolerable for us so that we can endure the days to come.
God understands our limitations. Didn’t the Lord send an angel to feed Elijah and encourage him when the prophet wanted to die because he couldn’t take it anymore?
The message to our generation
The proper response to pain is worship.
I believe this is God’s timely message to all of us as we navigate one of the darkest and most difficult seasons our world has ever known. Massive unemployment due to AI, twisted and evil ideologies touted and championed by the majority, acts of violence perpetrated against Christians in many different countries, even in the West where pastors and Christian school teachers are being arrested for holding to what Scripture teaches. And the list goes on.
So, while our world seems to be descending into chaos and immorality, worshiping God is a powerful weapon we can use to shed light on the darkness that threatens us.
Victory follows where worship leads
If you’re going through hot times, you can slam your hand on the table in anger or pain if you have to. But don’t let anger and resentment stay in your heart. Let’s pull ourselves together, let’s free ourselves from everything that annoys us, the sooner the better. In doing so, we can begin to worship God because, my friend, victory approaches when our hearts turn to worship.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Boonyachoat
