ANNA: HANDLING PAIN THE RIGHT WAY

It was the second Sunday of May 2019 and it was (American) Mothers Day. Apparently, there’s a lot of confusion regarding how many Mothers Day we celebrate in a year. To clear the air on that, we need to know that Mothers Day falls on different days depending on the countries where it is celebrated. It is held on the second Sunday of May in many countries, such as Australia, Canada, and The United States. It is held exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday in the United Kingdom, the same with Nigeria probably because of our history with the UK. For a list of specific Mother’s Day in different countries, check here.

 Back to my gist, that Sunday marked the end of our Wonder Women of the Bible series we had been treating as a church. We had considered different female characters in the Bible such as Esther, Ruth and others and this Sunday, it was Anna, the prophetess in Luke 2: 36-38. By the way, my church is blessed with wonder-women, if you think wonder-women started and ended in the Bible, you need to visit my church and meet the many women in my life who have impacted and helped shape and mould me at different critical junctures of my life from my mum (my numero uno Wonderwoman) to my Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Eluyera, down to my Indonesian mum, Ms. Ani Pearman and all the other wonder-women too numerous to mention here.

So, back to Sunday, the soft speaking Pastor Korie Taylor shared on the subject- Anna: from tragedy to triumph. It was a simple message but I’ve come to learn that simple is powerful and elegant! Ms. Korie shared from her life experiences and those of her parents and their friends, who all at different times had to deal with pain and how they responded to that pain. It was during that message that it dawned on me, that unlike many other popular Bible characters, Anna’s life of over 80 years, was summarized in only three verses in the Bible. But there’s much to learn from this amazing woman as we all can relate with her and do share something in common with her: pain.

Pastor Korie realized that her parents and each of the adults in their lifelong circle of friends- all followers of Jesus- had faced significant pain and tragedy from the death of loved ones to sicknesses, financial hardships etc.

As I sat there listening to the full-time teacher, mom and pastor’s wife speak, I was reminded of the year 2012 when tragedy struck my family. My parents lost a son in a fatal car accident, a week to Christmas. My aunt had become my parent’s firstborn by proxy, as they had assumed her responsibility shortly after they got married, she was our (my siblings and me) sister, she babysat us, she was our second mother. My parents gladly gave out her hand in holy matrimony in 2008 to a man who had become family. But the joy was short-lived when he left behind a 3-year-old son and 11 months old set of twins just a week to Christmas of 2012.

I was young and could not process the pain much, but watching my parents and aunt grieve broke my heart. I watched my parents bury him a few days to Christmas and then lead a congregation to worship God for the gift of Christ at Christmas. I remember vividly my mum telling me she told God, He knows best and everything is clear to Him, so she let go. I recall my aunt saying, like the Shunammite woman after the death of her son, “it is well” when visitors came calling to commiserate with us. I saw everyone, my siblings as well, and all the people Pastor Korie shared about boldly declare “God will see us through.”

What was their secret? How did they pull through and were not torn apart? There are 3 things they all did in their pain, and we also should do in our pain:

1.       Surround yourself with the presence of God (Ps.73: 25-26) like Peter in John 6: 68-69: they declared by their words and actions “Lord to whom shall we go? We have come to know that you have the words of eternal life.” We surround ourselves with God’s presence by engaging in routine spiritual habits of worship, reading God’s word, fasting and praying and fellowship with other believers. When it becomes our routine, we can easily turn to it in our pain.

2.       Surround yourself with the people of God (Pro.27:17). Anna was in the temple, rubbing shoulders with Simeon, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. The people of God will be a source of comfort and strength as they stand by us as we go through pain. Connect with God’s people in your local church, in your cell fellowship, Bible study unit, service unit among others.

3.       Spend time serving God (Luke 2:38). Anna served God in and through her pain and brokenness for decades since her years as a young widow. It is never too late or too early to start serving God¹.

I have watched my parents and many others go through pain practicing the 3 points above and I have seen God gently bear them through hard times and that which was meant to destroy them made them stronger. If we surround ourselves with God’s presence, God’s people and serving God, we will see God. Because of her choices, Anna saw Jesus with her own eyes. In Luke 2:30-32 Simeon declared “I have seen your salvation…”

Why do bad things happen to good people? Well, I don’t know, and I’m pretty sure Pastor Korie doesn’t know either. But what we do know is that we can set ourselves up for triumph in the face of tragedy by surrounding ourselves with God’s presence.

Let me conclude by saying this: in our pain lies an opportunity to offer up to God a sacrifice of praise. And as we offer this sacrifice, we can rest assured God will meet us right there.

Have you experienced pain? How did you pull through? Perhaps there are other secrets beyond those listed? Please feel free to share with us in the comment section. It is always a pleasure reading your thoughts.

EndNote

1.       Sermon outline Anna: From Tragedy to Triumph. Sunday, 12^th May 2019, International Christian Assembly, Surabaya. To get the full message and other resources kindly visit www.icasby.com.