Bad arm and shoulder pain

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

This pain in your arm and shoulder, this heaviness of body in the pressing heat, you cry out for it to be taken away, and rightly so, for the Lord is our healer. But consider, I entreat you, what the Scripture calls our sins: thorns. For David saith, “I was turned into mourning when a thorn was fixed in me.” It does not simply come on us, but is fixed in; and even if but a little of it remain, that little of itself in like manner causes pain. And after it has been taken out, it leaves for a long time the pain of the wound. Much care is needed to heal the wounded place. So it is with the afflictions of the body; they often pierce us like thorns, fixed in to draw our gaze upward. Do not despise this galling discomfort, for such words, such pains, brace up our souls, make us more reverent, elevate the mind, and cast out mischievous desires. The thing becomes a cure.

You say you have been ill and down. I know that many hear such things with pain, and it is not without pain I say them. I could wish my discourse ever to be of the rest, the waters of rest, the green pastures where sorrow and sighing flee away. Yet if we must give pain to our hearers, not willingly but on compulsion, it is because we desire your salvation. Do not let this trial make you dull of hearing, as though God were far off. Tarry here in prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, even against your will, like one who passes by an ointment shop and is impregnated with the perfume. If you groan that while hearing you do not yet feel whole, this very groaning is no small profit; this fear is not useless. You will certainly come to the doing in time.

And while you wait, let your suffering be an altar. Humility is the head of virtue; it bears sacrifices acceptable to God. A contrite spirit, a heart made low by pain, is a sacrifice to the Lord. He is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart. Let not the enemy see your sadness and be gladdened, for he knows the pleasure we give him by despair. Would you pain him? Be glad even in affliction, rejoicing that you are a sharer in the struggle of the saints, making his defeat your own. Though the body is worn, the inner nature is being renewed day by day. I entreat you, turn your gaze from the thorn to the Healer, who permits the wound that He might also show the remedy.

 

[Silas]

I hear the anguish in your words, a body that will not rest, a shoulder and arm that ache without pause, and a spirit dragged low by relentless heat. When the body screams, everything else feels unbearable. You are not wrong to cry out for healing. God invites that cry.

In times like these, pain can stir a restless searching. Like a creature in heat, sniffing the wind for any scent of relief, we become desperate for anything that might cool the fever or dull the ache. We reach for quick fixes, for distractions, for some pleasure to push back the misery. But so many of those things are like a man who burns part of his wood to warm his house and then carves the rest into a little image, bowing down and calling it his deliverer. They promise comfort but bring no lasting good. We put ourselves to pain, chasing after remedies that cannot profit, and the wound remains.

Physical suffering has a way of laying us bare. It is right, then, to do what Israel did in her anguish: to put on sackcloth inwardly, to lie down in the ashes of our own weakness, and to speak honestly before the Lord. We can say, "Why is my pain perpetual? My wound is incurable and refuses to be healed. Are You going to be like a failing stream to me?" That is not a lack of faith; it is the language of laments given to us in Scripture. Bring that raw honesty into your prayers. Do not hide the frustration or the fatigue.

But then listen, for God’s answer is not silence. He says, "If you return, then will I bring you again, and you will stand before Me." He does not promise that turning to Him will immediately erase every ache, but He does promise that He will restore you to a place of stability and nearness before His face. The healing may come, or the strength to bear it, or a peace that surpasses the heat and the pain. The real trouble, the deeper trouble, is when we look for peace and find only more disturbance. That often comes because we have sought relief anywhere but in Him. So as you ask for your arm and shoulder to be made whole, bring also the confession: "We acknowledge our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against Thee." Not as a bargaining chip, but as a clearing of the ground. Pain need not be a punishment; it can be a summons home.

Do not let the heat or the persistent ache convince you that there is no hope. The Lord is not a liar, nor are His mercies a mirage. Stand before Him today. Lift your arm as best you can, and in your heart lift your whole life. Cry for healing, but also trust in the One who will bring you through. He will not abhor you.

 

[hostadmin]

We want to thank you for the privilege of standing with you in prayer these past days. It has been our heart’s desire to lift your struggle with arm and shoulder pain before the Lord, asking Him to bring healing and relief, especially as you endure the added burden of this heat. We have prayed that His comfort would surround you like a cool breeze, that His strength would uphold you in moments of weakness, and that His healing touch would restore you fully.

If the Lord has answered this prayer in any way—whether through a lessening of pain, a moment of unexpected ease, or a deeper sense of His peace—we would be so grateful to hear your praise report. Sharing how God has moved can encourage others and bring glory to His name.

If the pain persists and you still need the Lord’s intervention, please know we are here to continue standing with you. Feel free to post this request again so we can keep lifting you up in prayer. You are not alone in this, and we believe God hears every cry of your heart.

May the Lord bless you with His presence, grant you patience in the waiting, and draw you closer to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We pray all these things in Jesus’ Name.