The Value of Pain

You can’t bring a cup of cold water to someone if you’ve never thirsted
You can’t heal a heart if your heart’s never been broken
You can’t forgive a sin that you’ve never done
Or you never thought you could do
Put that bandage away it’s too small to cover the wound
– from “Cup of Cold Water” by John Fischer

When it comes to standing in someone else’s shoes and feeling what others feel, the most frequently neglected area in which we do this is in the area of pain.

We live in a society obsessed with pain relief. Doctors, druggists, chiropractors, psychiatrists and psychologists are all banded together in this fight against the common enemy: pain – both physical and mental. Rarely do you hear that pain might be a good thing, but it can be. It may not be good in and of itself, but it can be good in what it accomplishes. What can pain accomplish?

Pain opens us up to our real need.
Pain helps us identify with others.
Pain reminds us of our limitations.
Pain can open up your heart, if you let it.
Pain grounds us in our humanity.
Pain is a big part of love; you can’t live or love without it.

All those country songs about love and heartbreak may not be so trite after all. If love doesn’t hurt, then it’s not very deep. Ask Jesus about the pain of love, and He could point to a cry still rattling around the universe, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
(Mark 15:34)

We spend billions of dollars trying to get ourselves pain-free, when pain is perhaps one of the most important ways we can touch another human being. It’s one thing to share the same joy – high five at a football game over a touchdown, or share a kiss on New Year’s Eve – it’s another, deeper thing to share the same pain.

Some people are convinced that they are alone in their pain – that no one else has experienced the pain they feel – until someone comes along who has, and suddenly, they are not alone any longer. It doesn’t make the pain any more bearable, but it does make a relationship possible.

I pray that my heart never heals from these wounds. If you understand this statement, then you understand the value of pain.

by John Fischer
Used by Permission

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What Jesus said: “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:39). Or: Unless a person is an outright proclaimed enemy of the gospel, he can be considered a friend. That means there are lots of friends out there waiting to be claimed.

What it seems like we heard: “Whoever is not for us is against us.” Or in other words, anyone who is not one of us is our enemy. That would mean the world is populated mostly with our foes.

These are actually statements of differing worldviews. How you think about the world determines which reality is true for you. Personally, I like the worldview where I assume friendship instead of anticipating enmity.

I think as Christians in this culture, we have made lots of enemies we didn’t have to make. We have drawn lines in the sand that were not there in the first place, and accused people on the other side of the line for the crime of being over there when we drew it. (We never gave them a chance, in other words.) It’s almost as if we have had to create and maintain a good supply of enemies in order to fulfill this self-proclaimed animosity with the world that incorrectly defines us.

This is not a good way to behave when representing the God of second chances—the God who, if He had not been abundantly gracious would never have called us His friends, and would never have given us even a first chance. I think it best to assume there are a lot of friends of God out there, just waiting to be found.

The writer of Hebrews wrote: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). That’s truly giving the benefit of a doubt to those who are not “of us.” It’s a good place to begin.

by John Fischer
used by permission

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Our self-effort is nothing compared with the glory of God at work in us.

Regardless of our background, skills, sharp wit, and dedicated heart for success, the real truth about our Christian lives is that God is at work in us, and He can do so much more through us than you or I could ever do without Him. We do not have to psych ourselves up to accomplish something for God. In fact, we know that even in our feeblest weakness God is able to work through us – and that is what we count on.

Yes, the world is waiting to see the truth and all we have to do is be available, and yet something stands in the way of this happening. It is us. We are in the way. We hide the truth behind the masks we wear because we are not willing to be seen as the sinners we really are.

The glory of Christ can only truly be seen in contrast to our own despicable sinfulness.  As we begin to lose a heartfelt awareness of our own wretchedness as Christians, we begin to lose the full significance of Christ’s work on the cross for everyone. His glory is seen only against the horribleness of our sin. Yet we create masks to hide our sins. Our masks return us to bondage and keep us from the freedom found in His Spirit’s liberty.

Masked with near perfection, sin hides itself beneath the surface of good churches, good confessions, good works, and good intentions. Everyone really knows that something is wrong, but because of all the good rituals, works and confessions, sin is not seen for its exceeding sinfulness (Romans 7:13). When our sin is not seen as exceeding sinfulness, our light is no longer His, but darkness masquerading behind all the ‘right‘ things we do, making our darkness even darker.

We are all called to be ministers of the new covenant. God is making us able. We understand that God breathes into our lives and through us to all those around us – our families, our neighbors, our workplace, our community, our world. If we are willing to live unmasked, life will never be the same again.

by John Fischer
Used by Permission

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“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” Galatians 6:1( NLT)

Because I am so good at it, and because it is so wrong and yet so easy to do, I talk a lot about all the subtle ways we sit in judgment over one another. As I do this, I am often asked about how we hold each other accountable to the truth if we are not supposed to judge. This verse is what that’s all about, but even this verse is often misconstrued into judging someone without any attempt to really do what it says.

Let me show you what I mean:

Dear brothers and sisters … if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should be happy about your relative godliness, because you haven’t fallen like this person has.

Dear brothers and sisters … if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should find out as many details as you can about what this person is up to so you can make it a matter of prayer with all your mutual friends.

Dear brothers and sisters … if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should ostracize that person from your fellowship.

Dear brothers and sisters … if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should avoid bringing anything up about it at all.

No, it says to restore that person, humbly and gently, and that means getting involved personally, and it means sharing your own life and your own vulnerabilities. Which might look something like this:

You go to that person and tell them what they are doing is wrong. Use scripture, not your opinion. Perhaps ask them to read a portion that applies to their situation and talk about what they think it means. Tell them of your own struggles with sin, what your hardest battle is at the moment, and how they might be able to help you. Ask them if they want help and make yourself available to help them be accountable. Help them get help from someone more qualified if it’s beyond you. Tell them that you love them and they can’t shake you whatever they do. Tell them that you are sticking by them regardless, so that if they decide to sin again, they are dragging you in with them.

And do be careful, because no one is so godly that they are beyond falling into the same temptation as well, and knowing this is what will keep you humble, and not judgmental, as you seek to help.

Question: Is there someone you know who needs godly guidance? How can you approach them in a way that will be winsome to their understanding while still honoring to God?

By John Fischer
used by permission

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Faithfulness is the one ongoing quality God asks of us. He is willing to justify us; He is willing to grant us mercy instead of the condemnation we deserve, but he does ask for a life of faithfulness.

Faithfulness is in contrast to perfection. Being faithful is a far cry from being perfect. Faithfulness means being authentic, devoted, consistent, loyal. An alcoholic who regularly shows up at A.A. meetings is faithful. She may slip and fall, but she is faithful to get up again. She may lie to her supervisor, but she is faithful to tell the truth when confronted. Faithfulness allows for failure; perfection does not.

When God calls for perfection, it is assumed that I cannot perform it. It’s the demand for perfection that keeps me relying on God’s mercy and grace. But the call to faithfulness is a call I can answer. Faithful to follow, faithful to confess, faithful to obey, faithful to repent, faithful to believe, faithful to pray and seek God – all these are the requirements of faithfulness. All of them are doable and are, in fact, my responsibility and my joy, having been the unexpected recipient of so great a mercy.

The Pharisees could have had it all if they would have been willing to admit their hypocrisy and join the rest of the human race on their knees before a merciful Lord. “God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” cried the publican in the parable of Jesus (Luke 18:13). Imagine if you will, a Pharisee in his long robe, his phylacteries, and his ornate turban, down on his knees next to the tax collector in tears of repentance and joy. Imagine these two embracing, both overwhelmed at the mercy of God in hearing and answering the same prayer. There you have a true picture of the kingdom of God. It’s hard to imagine the Pharisee standing up after such an experience and judging anyone.

And following such strange and unexpected union would be two unlikely followers of Christ, getting up off their knees and encouraging each other to be faithful. Shouldn’t we want to be faithful after all He’s done for us?

by John Fischer
used by permission

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“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11

When God’s Word is hidden in your heart, it doesn’t lie dormant like a buried seed. It’s alive—growing, reaching, reshaping who you are from the inside out. It’s not about memorizing verses or collecting knowledge; it’s about internalizing truth until it begins to think and move through you.

Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that, “the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.” Once planted in your heart, it becomes a living force, powered by the Holy Spirit to guide, convict, and compel you into action.

The Compulsion to Act
When God’s Word takes root deep within, it does not stay still. The Spirit animates it—pressing you to speak truth, show mercy, and step forward when it would be easier to stand back. This is not about performance or religious effort; it’s about cooperation with the Spirit who turns His Word into action.

When the Word is alive, you begin to feel divine tension: moments when silence feels like disobedience, when compassion feels urgent, and when love becomes the only reasonable response.

Stepping Out of Yourself
The Word in your heart calls you beyond yourself—past fear, ego, or self-protection. It stretches your comfort zone, asking you to trust what you cannot yet see. The Spirit uses Scripture to reframe your instincts until obedience flows naturally and courage becomes your new normal.

This is what it means to live by faith: not calculating outcomes but trusting the One who spoke the Word that now lives in you.

Present-Tense Readiness
“I have hidden your word in my heart” is not a past achievement—it’s a present reality. The Word you’ve stored there shapes the moment you live in now. When temptation comes, truth rises up as a shield. When opportunity calls, obedience is already in motion. When the need is great, our response is greater.

The hidden Word creates readiness: readiness to forgive, to serve, to love. You are prepared because the truth within you has already written your response.

The Holy Spirit’s Role
The Holy Spirit turns the Word from words on a page into the voice of God.

• Empowerment: You act not by willpower but by partnership.
• Conviction: The Spirit presses truth on your heart until it becomes impossible to ignore.
• Sensitivity: You become tuned to divine timing—when to act, when to wait, when to speak.

Breakthrough Reflection
Hiding God’s Word in your heart is not about holding truth—it’s about being held by it. It prepares you for every temptation, every opportunity, every act of love.

When the Word lives deep enough, it moves through you like breath—effortless, powerful, alive. The Spirit does not ask you to try harder; He invites you to yield more deeply. The more you trust the Word within you, the more your life begins to echo it.

Let God’s Word shape your heart, and you will find yourself stepping out of yourself—acting, loving, forgiving—not by your strength, but by His.

by John Fischer
used by permission

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“Jesus once set a guilty woman free from her accusers by showing that the people who were judging her were just as guilty of sin as she was. “All right, stone her,” He said to the religious leaders who were ready with stones in hand, to deliver the judgment she indeed deserved. “But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones”“ John 8:7, NLT

This incident shows us something very important about our purpose as Christians living in a world of sinners. Our job is not to throw judgment upon sinners, but to identify with them. The Pharisees and religious leaders were trying to separate themselves from this sinful woman they had found in the act of committing adultery. By judging her they were going to be able to feel much better about themselves. Jesus put a stop to their little charade by putting them in the same boat with the woman they were accusing. They were just as guilty.

It is so tempting to think, especially after being a Christian for a while and spending a lot of time around Christians, that you are better than other people. You start to separate yourself from sinners, forgetting it was your sin that brought you to Christ in the first place. I know this because I’m so good at it.

The gospel comes best from people who identify with the sins of others, because they have become so familiar with their own sin. It is noted in the account that as the self-righteous leaders were convicted by the presence of sin in their own lives, “they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest” (John 8:9 NLT). That makes sense. The oldest would be the ones most aware of their own sinfulness. There comes a time in your life when you can’t fool yourself anymore. There were probably a few young, arrogant idealists who hung on as long as possible, but even they had to finally give in to the truth about their own guilt.

The proliferation of both spoken and unspoken judgment found primarily within Christians, has forced many into the world, unarmed and without a known Christian friend and mutual sinner. We are constantly trying to separate ourselves from a world that Jesus wants us in. Not only that, He wants us to see our own sin and not make such a big fuss over everyone else’s. Our sin nature is our connection with our neighbor, our salvation is our hope, and the good news of the gospel is our message.

Sinners can spot a mile away the hypocrisy of proclaiming a gospel about the forgiveness of everyone’s sins but your own.

Question:  Jesus preached more about hypocrisy than most other topics; do you see hypocrisy in the church (or yourself) and how can we (and you) start correcting this?

By John Fischer
used by permission

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By John Fischer

To those who fought and never came back
And those who came back broken
To those who wondered why
And those who never questioned

No one asked them what they thought
Of policies and platforms
They only did what they had to do
And thanks was long in coming

On a day we honor the dead and the living
Who know the real cost of war
And those still trapped inside their heads
Who can’t get outside the door

Who can know the awful truth
Of what they must have seen?
And who has lived to tell it
Yet know they never will

Reasons that the journalists
And politicians won
Will never be the same as those
On this side of a gun

So on this day we lay aside
Our arguments and advice
And thank the Lord for those who gave
The ultimate sacrifice

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The post Soldiers appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Our thought for today comes from a woman who has had more difficulties to deal with than a lot of us put together. That is why she has a right to say what she says, and why we should take notice when she says it.

“I know discouragement comes easy, but I also know things happen when God is ready for them to happen and not a second sooner. God knows why he wants things to happen in the order they have to. We just need to be ready when they come.”

This is a woman in a complex situation seeking to hold onto a childlike faith while displaying an adult-like wisdom. What she’s saying is that she has recognized there are two different time zones going on when it comes to correlating God’s will and our experience. One I’ll call My Desperate Time (MDT) and the other, God’s Own Time (GOT).

Most of us run on MDT. MDT defines our reality. It’s what we see and feel always. We are conscious of it the minute we rise up in the morning until we put our weary heads on the pillow at night. We measure pleasure and pain by it; we judge our overall state-of-being by it.

God, on the other hand, exists in another time zone entirely. In GOT, His will is always done, and nothing is ever late. GOT also takes into account the MDT of everyone, which can often get tangled up. You see there are as many MDT zones as there are people, and that means they can often be in conflict. But with God there is never any conflict. There is only one GOT and as far as He is concerned, everything is right on schedule.

This is why it is utterly silly to wonder if God has heard our prayers based on whether or not He has acted in MDT. God always hears our prayers — He has most likely already answered them — he just answered them in GOT.

Most of our issues with God are all about time zones. Think about the hapless Bible character, Job. Job was smack in the middle of MDT all the while he was suffering, and his best friends were trying to figure out why God wasn’t doing anything in MDT. Well, we know now that God rarely does; He is always in GOT and we can see that now, in Job’s case, because his life ultimately caught up with GOT. Eventually, all MDT will be GOT. In fact, that will be what heaven is all about. We will all be kicking back in God’s Own Time.

So faith is mostly all about time zones. When you pray, know that you were heard, and move ahead, believing in GOT and just maybe, MDT won’t be so desperate.

Question: What “time zone” do you see yourself usually operating in?

by John Fischer
used by permission

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Any relationship is going to require a Grace Card. That’s because we are destined to fail each other over and over again. We will fail each other because we are fallible, and we will fail without even trying, because our expectations are always too high for the other to meet.

One of Christ’s disciples once asked Him how many times he should forgive his brother, “Seven times?” he suggested. That probably seemed like a lot to him. “Try seventy times seven,” Jesus replied (Matthew 18:22 The Message).

Now I don’t think Jesus meant by this that we were to literally count up all the times we have forgiven someone and as soon as we get to 490, say “Okay, that’s it. I’m not forgiving you anymore!” I think what He meant was: if you’re going to put a number on it, make sure it’s a number too big to keep track of.

Or better yet, how about a credit card with an unlimited forgiveness account — an account Jesus opened on the cross? An account we can draw on as much as we need, for ourselves, and for those who offend us, or sin against us, or disappoint us, or let us down? You’ve already got one if you’ve been to the cross. Why not activate yours today?

This does not mean we are not accountable to one another. This does not mean we aren’t honest when we are hurt, or when we hurt someone. It means that when we do, it’s not a lesson in futility. We have a card to swipe that takes away our sin — that wipes the slate clean and gives us another chance. Believe me we’ll need it. I keep mine out all the time. I don’t even bother putting it away.

Grace Card — grace for you, and grace for everyone else. You need it; they need it. Grace Card: Don’t leave home without it.

by John Fischer
used by permission

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“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

This is the key verse to understanding how the new covenant works – the interplay between God and us, and how God gets His message across through us. Understand and act on this, and you will not be ineffective in your Christian life.

Notice that it starts with that same conjunction “but” that we encountered when Paul had just confessed his anxiety over not finding Titus in Troas, and had left behind an opportunity for spreading the gospel there, only to say, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us ...” He set up one thing, and contrasts it with another. He should be anxious over Titus, guilty over walking by a door the Lord had opened for him, and depressed over the whole thing. Instead, he is thankful and confident that he is being led in Christ’s victory, and even being put on display.

Here, the “but” is referring to the incredible treasure we all contain described as “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ,” (vs 6) and yet that treasure is going to be housed in a most unlikely – perhaps even inappropriate – place. You won’t believe it when you hear it. It’s almost a joke, the contrast is so significant. All that glory and brightness and presence is going to be where? In you and me? You’ve got to be kidding!

The contrast is everything. The contrast is the whole point. Anything we do to eliminate that contrast is to take away from the effectiveness of this plan. The contrast between our fragile, clay-like (from the earth) bodies and the immeasurable brightness of Christ is something that should be obvious so that everyone will know the power must be coming from God, because it certainly isn’t coming from us.

You can see how the power of this message is made more effective by the commonness of our humanity. In fact, the power of God in our lives is in direct proportion to our weakness. The more honest we are with our humanity, the more the power of God can be seen and recognized in us. Conversely, the more we try and show ourselves as adequate and spiritual, the less anyone will ever know about the power of God. This is the tragedy of “playing church.” Everybody is hiding the power of God behind a false spirituality.

This is also why the new covenant is so freeing. In it, the greatest power is in concert with our greatest need. No need to hide anything.

Understanding this sets us free to live our lives with a kind of forthright boldness, counting on the Lord to show up, because He always does. The only thing that can stop Him is our manipulation of what he wants to produce in us through our genuine transparency.

By John Fischer
Used by Permission

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Life is hard. How often we forget that this is the way it is supposed to be. We push against the difficult circumstances in our lives instead of allowing them to work God’s character in us. We act as if the good life is what we deserve. Even the good life we will enjoy in heaven is not what we deserve, so what business do we have assuming everything will be easy down here?

Everything we are going through is for a purpose. God does not waste any experiences on us; He uses everything. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28). There are no qualifiers on this. It doesn’t say everything except the stupid things we do, or everything except when we blow it, or everything except for our sin; it just says “everything.” No exceptions.

The only reason this isn’t always tremendously good news for us is the little clause: “according to his purpose for us.” We forget that it is His purpose that is being worked out in our lives, and the only time this would be a problem is when His purpose is not necessarily ours. At issue here is who defines the success, fulfillment and purpose we are seeking – our culture or the Lord?

We get into a lot of trouble when we use our culture’s definition of fulfillment and apply it to our understanding of God’s purpose for our lives. We often assume God is blessing us when things are going great, and God is cursing us when things are going poorly when the opposite could very well be the case. God’s hand and his love are hidden in the difficult things. We should actually be wary when things are “easy,” for this world is not our home nor is it a place to seek the comforts of life. These are culturally defined, not spiritual.

The spiritual things in our lives have to do with what builds character in us, and these are most often the more difficult things. “We can rejoice, too,” says Paul in Romans 5:3&4 (NLT), “when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us” they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.”

So when things are going well for you or things are going poorly, the first things you should ask is “According to whom?”

by John Fischer
used by permission

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