Not All Pain Is the Same
Discerning the Difference Between Injury and Love’s Restoring Work
There is a kind of pain that signals harm—
and a kind of pain that signals healing.
One tells the truth about what has been injured.
The other tells the truth about what love is restoring.
Both can ache.
Both can feel unsettling.
But they are not the same.
Learning to discern the difference
is one of the gentlest, bravest works of healing.
Pain as an Invitation, Not a Verdict
Pain, at its truest, is a gift.
It awakens us.
It interrupts numbness.
It tells the truth when denial would rather keep it quiet.
A nerve fires.
A heart tightens.
A soul stirs.
Something is asking for attention.
Scripture never treats pain as proof of failure.
Often, it is evidence of life.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.” Psalm 119:67
Pain exposes what has been wounded,
ignored, or carried longer than it was meant to be.
The Holy Turn Toward Healing
There comes a moment—
quiet, courageous, deeply human—
when we choose not just to name the wound
but to step toward healing.
And this is where confusion often enters.
Because healing hurts too.
Anyone who has walked through physical therapy understands this.
The injury causes sharp, alarming pain.
But rehabilitation introduces a different ache.
Muscles burn.
Scar tissue resists.
Movement feels worse before it feels better.
It is easy, mid-process,
to assume the injury is still winning—
when in truth, restoration has begun.
When Love Applies Pressure
Inner healing follows the same rhythm.
Abba does not rush us past pain.
He walks with us through it.
“He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Binding requires pressure.
Strengthening requires resistance.
Restoration takes time.
Scripture names this tender paradox:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.” — Hebrews 12:11
The pain of injury isolates.
The pain of healing reconnects.
A bone aches as it knits together.
Muscles tremble as strength returns.
Skin tightens as a scar forms—less fragile than before.
Grace does not deny pain.
Grace redefines it.
Be encouraged, you are being healed by being held by Abba.
Reflection
Where might I be mistaking the pain of healing
for the pain of injury?
What healing work have I resisted because it feels uncomfortable or slow?
What would it look like to trust Abba’s love in the stretching, not just the relief?
Prayer