“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

I live with pain. Though I am in a period of time that my pain levels are somewhat better, the pain is not gone. I can identify with this. Leslie came to her pastor with tears in her eyes. “Pastor,” she said, “the time has come for me to resign as the pianist. My arthritis has gotten so bad that I can no longer play the piano. This has been the ministry that I have loved doing for over thirty years. I am so sorry to resign,” Leslie conceded. Her pastor understood. He said to her, “Leslie, you are a valued ministry partner. Though you can’t play the piano, I want you to stay on the ministry team. Every Thursday I am going to email you very specific prayer requests about the message and service. I want you to remain a very real partner in ministry to me as your pastor and the church as your family. Leslie, one more thing, please remember this on the days that your pain levels are up, that the day is coming when the Lord Jesus Himself will wipe away your tears and there will be no more pain.” Leslie would need that reminder. Some days would be more painful than others. She never forgot what her pastor told her. She also became a great prayer partner. Special things happened at the church. The pastor knew he had a great prayer partner indeed.

For today: Do you deal with pain? Don’t view it as an enemy. And always remember that it isn’t going to stay forever.