There are two kinds of pain: Physical pain and emotional pain. One deals with the body and the other deals with the mind. Everyone knows how to deal with physical pain, but dealing with psychological and emotional pain is something altogether different. Instead of writing one very long article on this topic, I will break the information into several parts for a series. The Father has been teaching me some major principles through the time He has given me to pray, read books, and study. Here is the first part of what He has given me to share with you—some highlights and insights from all this time on my hands.

1. Pain is a Perception of the Mind

Where physical pain is attributed to the body, we don’t realize that all other pain, often far more damaging, comes directly from the mind. The big lie is that the pain originates in other people or situations. Nope. It comes from the mind. Need proof? When was the last time you heard a tree say, “I can’t believe that storm came last night with no warning and stripped me of most of my leaves. I can’t stand storms. All they do is cause damage to every tree in the woods”? Or when was the last time you heard a flower complain of a cold night and the damage done to it by the frost? They experienced damage, sometimes far more than we do, but there is one thing missing from their makeup that we have—a mind. You can curse a tree all day long and it will never blink. Try that to any human and the reaction will be far more than a blink.

Where did the pain actually come from? In both cases, a person yells and curses but only the human experiences pain. The pain comes from the perception in the mind of the person. As humans, we have the ability to judge situations and those judgments cause the perception of pain. Because you believe what that person said or did was wrong, you judge it as such and that judgment creates pain. If there were no judgment, there could be no pain. Therefore, WE are truly the source of our pain.

Why did the Messiah not get angry when they crowned Him with thorns or crucified His flesh? Because He chose not to judge them or the situation. Instead, He asked the Father to forgive them saying, “they know not what they do.” In doing so, He felt only physical pain. He cast all other pain (betrayal, slander, gossip, etc.) to His Father in heaven and so His burden remained light.

We have the same choice. We can allow our minds to refrain from judgment and, therefore, prevent ourselves from experiencing as much pain. Pain comes from the choice within our own minds to interpret a situation as negative or hurtful. Although there are situations that are certainly hurtful, people who are mean, and situations that are negative, we can still navigate those situations by “taking every thought captive,” as Scripture says.

How do we actually do that in real-time? That will be the subject of part 2 of this series.

In the meantime, you are already halfway there by understanding that your mind is the one responsible for the pain. And since that responsibility is yours, YOU are the one in the driver’s seat, with full control over it.

In the next article, we will discuss a major principle that will help stop these pre-mature judgments in their tracks. It will put you on your way to living your life in peace and easily shedding the rain of the painful storms of life.

Shalom!

Jim Staley

Read Part 2