A Holy Pain - By Dr. Chris Miller

A Holy Pain

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Written By

Dr. Chris Miller, D.Min., M.Div.

Counselor and Speaker

Published with Permission

A Holy Pain" is not for everyone. But for those who hunger to know God and to better understand how He works in our suffering, you will be greatly helped by this work Dr. Chris Miller is thoroughly biblical, keenly practical and writes in a personal way, writing of his own struggles as he was repeatedly taken through God's "Holy Pain." To order your 52+ page manuscript copy of Holy Pain write Dr. Miller through E-Mail or contact him by phone: 303.932.0858.

It is during these times of a holy pain that God seems to begin a very personal work in us. He begins His process of pruning and purifying. These times of "holy pain" are holy because God has given it to us for His good and perfect purposes. It is holy because it has as its goal Christlikeness. It is painful because it strips us of things we have grown accustomed to having. It is painful because it removes things we have grown to love. It is painful because the Almighty uses it to tear down those God substitutes, the idols on our lives we have grown to love and cherish more than we love and trust Him.

If we look at it from God's perspective, it is a holy pain because through a very lonely process, He begins to remove all those things that either are or have the potential of competing with Him. At times God gently inflicts holy pain to get our attention. At other times God overwhelms us so our idols instantaneously crumble to the ground. There are times when God seems to "zero in" on those things which are most important to us; those things that we've allowed to have places in our heart that are reserved for God alone. Sometimes God sets His sights on "my precious" as Gollum would say and we forbid God from touching that which is so important to us. Our defensive response to the possibility of losing "my precious" reveals that it must go. Sometimes that which is removed is a friend, a role, money, social standing, reputation or a position we have. If we love it more than God, it may be pruned from us and the holy pain of God sets in.

God does not afflict with holy pain because we've been "bad" or need to be disciplined. Holy pain may come because He is taking us to new depths of a relationship with Him. What may seem like punishment is actually blessing. It causes us to look inwardly into the corners of our being that need His restoration and a deep repentance. When God afflicts with a holy pain we are forced to to look at ourselves; our sin, our weaknesses, and those things we have clung to instead of God. It is painful because our over-inflated views of ourselves burst before our eyes and we are forced into the arenas of brokenness and humility.

Dr. Chris Miller

© Copyright 2003. Miller is a Marriage and Family Counselor with Deer Creek Counseling Services in Littleton, Colorado. He has D.Min. and M.Div. degrees from Denver Seminary and M.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Colorado. He has conducted divorce recovery workshops, retreats, and seminars in the Denver area for over 15 years.

Please Help Where Is God Ministries with Your Donation Today!