Searching for Relief in Suffering

After a 13 hour flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Tokyo, a 4 hour layover, and another 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Singapore, we finally arrived! By the time we made it to the mission house, it was 2:30 am...on TUESDAY! We left on Sunday! Needless to say, we were all exhausted! We rested in Singapore and now, Tuesday late morning, we are packing up to head to Indonesia.

The trip here was the longest travel time I've experienced. I've been to Kenya and all over Europe, but  this was definitely the longest. While I love to travel, I am not a fan of the "getting there" part. Because of physical traumas I have experienced in my life, my body doesn't do so well. And I tend to not sleep well on planes. But the Lord was so gracious to me on this trip. It was painful, but I slept more than I thought, AND He was gracious to remind me of His own suffering.

Here is a reflection I wrote near the end of our first flight into Tokyo:

"This flight is brutal. But the Lord will give me strength.

I am realizing my fragility and physical weakness: my hips ache, legs are swollen, nose is burning, lips are dried.

Mentally, I'm just as weak. I keep looking at the flight time. 'How much longer? Lord, just get me through this.' It's as much of a mental challenge as a marathon (I assume, given that I've never run a marathon. But I know how mentally challenging even running a mile can be for me sometimes so...) It hurts. 'Lord, just get me through!'

This is why we are told in Scripture that when we are weak, we are made strong (2 Cor. 12:9-10)! When we realize our weaknesses, we realize our need for Jesus. We need Him spiritually, yes, but we need Him physically, emotionally, and mentally, too. As I sit here, I hurt. I'm restless. But, I call on Jesus to keep my mind distracted and to help me make it through.

This pain and struggle does not even compare to Christ's suffering! Beatings. Lashings. Ripped flesh. Dehydration. Exhaustion. Humiliation. He understands the worst of all physical pain, emotional pain, and mental challenge! So, who am I to complain? I have no place. But I do have a place - as a co-heir in Christ, living in the Spirit - to ask for the same strength, toughness, courage, and perseverance as Christ. He was fully man and lived on not bread alone but on the food of the Spirit. The Spirit got Him through His agony and struggle. That same Spirit lives in me!"

And that's how I overcame the restlessness, ache, boredom, discomfort - through the Power and Spirit of the Lord. He is faithful and helped me through! It took prayer, but that's the point. I had to turn to Him. Our struggles, no matter how great or how trivial, should lead us to seek and search for Him...

BibleGateway's verse of the day today is Psalm 121:7-8: "The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forever more." I read this when I finally got to bed last night, just before falling asleep. How perfectly fitting!