Recently in prayer I said to God “I will exalt you above my pain’.
I had been having a hard time and I was very emotional.
I said a lot of things in that prayer:
I will not exalt my pain over you
I will not exalt my insecurity over you
I will not exalt my fear over you
I will not exalt my situation over you
I will not exalt my trouble over you
But I came back to ‘I will exalt you above my pain.’ It hit a nerve. I had never said that before.
I will exalt you above my pain
I will exalt you above my pain
I will exalt you above my pain
My eyes started welling up.
Exalt means to ‘raise to a higher rank or position.’
That was definitely the Holy Spirit. I started to understand that phrase in a way I never realised. I am someone who likes to ‘carry my issues on my head’ as Africans would say. I get so consumed with my problems that it is all I can think about. It's all I talk about. It becomes a part of me instead of something that is temporarily happening to me. I exalt my pain over God. I make my pain more important than the truth - his word - that he has given to me.
This scripture dropped into my heart.
John 16:33 - In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Sometimes during trials God can seem distant, but that is merely Him remaining calm. He knows the end from the beginning. So He knows that what is coming is greater than what has passed.
God will not panic with you. He will not speed up his carefully thought out plan to accommodate your anxiety. His word says that we should instead pray about everything so that we may experience peace over the situation - Philippians 4:6-7
This peace is regardless of your circumstances. The world could be crumbling around you but God can still grant you peace. That is the knowledge and the sovereignty of God. You can afford to relax when you know you are bigger than something. You can afford to relax when you know you are more powerful than your opponent. Have you ever seen a giant cower at the sight of an ant?
God is bigger than my pain. He already knows the outcome. Which is why he instructs me to follow his lead. Take heart, pray, and have peace in knowing that in the end I will receive the victory.