You may have noticed that my blog was missing last week. That’s because I’ve been fighting with today’s obstacle: chronic pain.

I’ve had a series of headaches and migraines that have made it hard for me to think, let alone write a blog. I’ve dealt with pain before, but this…this ice pick in the temple that doesn’t let up…this assault on the body that had me hiding under the covers in my bed, wishing I could just go to sleep so I could get a break. But no sooner would I finally, finally drift off, than the pain would rip me from sleep and back into the pit of agony.

Some of you know all too well what I’m talking about. You know what it is fight chronic pain, to try to battle your way past it so you can do what you feel God has asked you to do. And yet, no matter how hard you try, there are times the pain wins.

So what can we do in the face of this obstacle that turns our own bodies into weapons against us, that steal from us our ability to write? First, remember that you’re not alone. Scriptures show that God’s people are no strangers to pain. Even his most faithful followers have known chronic, agonizing pain. Second, pray. Third, pray. Fourth…well, you get the idea. But as you pray, don’t look so much for relief—which we know will come in God’s timing and in His way—but focus instead on HIM. On the truth that He is there, with us. And third, soak in the most honest, authentic words in this world that address Writer’s Obstacle #5: Chronic Pain—

2 Corinthians 4:16-18–Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,  while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Job 6 1-10–“If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, they would outweigh all the sands of the sea…For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows…Don’t I have a right to complain? Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?…At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

Lamentations 3:2—{The Lord} has led me into darkness, shutting out all light…He has made my skin and flesh grow old…He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress…He has walled me in, and I cannot escape…The thought of my suffering is bitter beyond words…I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

Psalm 6:2-4, 6-7, 9–Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail! Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking! I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness!…I am exhausted as I groan; all night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me…the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping! The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy; the Lord has accepted my prayer.

Jeremiah 17:12-14–“Lord, from the very beginning you have been seated on your glorious throne on high. You are the place where we can find refuge. You are the one in whom Israel may find hope…Lord, grant me relief from my suffering so that I may have some relief; rescue me…”

1 Peter 5:9-11–Be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.  All power to him forever! Amen.