Promise for Today - Such a Pain

Guest Author: Christopher Glotzbach

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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 NLT

What’s the deal with pain? I read once that pain is an incredible gift. But if we’re being honest… nobody wants to hear that.

Yet if we really stop and think about it, a life without pain could actually be dangerous.

Pain reveals.
Pain tells us when to stop.
Pain tells us when something is wrong.
Pain tells us when we’ve gone too far.

But sometimes, I think we misappropriate our pain. Often, we blame the wrong person. Sometimes I blame God for the pain in my life. Sometimes I blame other people. And if I’m really honest and willing to examine the situation, sometimes the pain is simply the result of my own choices, my own mistakes, or my own limitations.

For example:

A few months ago, I was at the gym attempting to do pull-ups. And because I’m not strong enough to do more than one pull-up, I have to use those elastic resistance bands.  And because I’m also apparently the least flexible person on the planet, I have a hard time getting out of those bands when I’m finished.

So picture this:
The band is fully stretched out, wrapped around my foot, and sitting at the bottom of my shoe. I finish my set, and I’m trying to get out of it. The band slips out from underneath my foot… …and SMACKS ME RIGHT IN THE FACE.

I was mad.  But more than anything, I was mad at the band. And then the Lord reminded me:
“The band is a tool. It didn’t hurt you.” And that got me thinking.

How often do I misappropriate pain onto God or onto other people when, in reality, the pain came from my own mistake? 

Now, I’m not saying all pain is like this. Some pain is completely outside of our control. Some pain comes from the brokenness of this world. Some pain is caused by the choices of other people. 

But sometimes… the thing I’m blaming for my pain is actually just the tool God is using to make me stronger. And maybe that’s why Scripture tells us to “consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2). Not because pain feels good. But because God can use even our pain to form us. 

So today, my prayer is:

God, 

       Help me not to blame the tool or the vehicle You are using in my sanctification. Help me see my circumstances accurately. Give me the humility to recognize when I’ve contributed to my own pain. Forgive me when I wrongly accuse You—or others—for pain that I have caused myself. And regardless of where my pain comes from, help me trust You. Help me hold on to You. Help me walk with You. And help me allow You to use even the painful things in my life to make me more like Jesus.
Amen.

Lent - Day 34 - One Teacher

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 

The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

Matthew 23:1-22

“You have one teacher.” We live in a world filled with many experts on any topic and any issue. But for Christians, there is only one authoritative teacher—Christ. In a time where everyone has an opinion and every opinion is viewed as having personal validity and therefore “truth”, Christians recognize only one authoritative teacher—Christ. In a world where we are bombarded with a confluence of voices and messages, for Christians there is only one authoritative teacher—Christ. As disciples of Jesus, it can be difficult and exhausting to wade through it all in order to cling only to the authoritative teaching of Christ. We are not alone in this struggle. This has been the difficulty for all of Jesus’ disciples. This is exactly why some of those earliest disciples wrote things like, "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope…not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another all the more." (Hebrews 10:23-25) Christ encourages us to be gathered to hear His word so that through the preaching of pastors, the examination of Scripture, and conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ He would be able to teach, instruct, and encourage us in faith.

Prayer:

Christ, 

         Be our teacher in age as in youth, drifting or doubting, for You are the truth. Grant us to trust You; though shifting as sand, doubt cannot daunt us; for in You we stand. Amen.

Prayer adapted from the words of Timothy Dudley-Smith.

Lent - Day 25 - We Have a Teacher

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. 

When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

Matthew 16:1-28

“This was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” In Matthew 16 we see yet another reason why we need the Holy Spirit in order to live our lives of faith. The Bible says that the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world. Left with our sinful nature and the world as our teachers, there is no way we could ever know or understand the grace of God. There is no way we could ever come to believe and receive life-giving faith. For this reason, we rejoice that God has graciously filled us with His Spirit. He places people in our lives who help cultivate a saving faith. By grace, God has revealed His message to us.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, 

                 Fill us with Your understanding. Quiet our minds so that we might hear more of the message that the Father is directing our hearts to hear. Amen.

Lent - Day 13 - He Carried Our Diseases

Lent Devotions from Concordia University 2025
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When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave.

Matthew 8:1-34

In the days of Jesus’ ministry, leprosy was a horrible disease that ate away at the very existence of a person. A person with leprosy was considered unclean and therefore separated from the life of the community. Sin acts in much the same way. It eats away at the life that God intended for us. It brings death and destruction to this creation. It separates us from God and isolates us from others because we are unclean. That is why Jesus’s crucifixion is such a gift of mercy. There, “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” He became a man and took on human flesh. He took on our leprous sin. He became our disease in order that we might be made clean.

Prayer:

Lord, 

         Thank You for cleansing us with Your precious blood and for clothing us in Your righteousness. Remove our sin today. Amen.